^B    '"^  ^    ?^5 


<!'?> 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


IN  MEMORY  OF 

Professor 
George  D.  Louderback 
1874-1957 


Satfrior  of  t\)t  Crsatal  ^alact. 


MEMOEIES 


GEEAT    METROPOLIS 


np:vv-york  : 

G.    p.    PUTNAM,    BROADWAY 

M  DCCCLIf. 


MEMORIES 


GREAT  METROPOLIS: 


tnniinn,  from  tlje  €nmn  tn  i^t  Crtjstal  f  uto. 


BY  F.  SAUNDERS. 


' '  I  pray  you  let  us  satisfy  our  eyes 
With  the  memorials  and  the  things  of  fame 
That  do  renown  this  city." 


NEW-YORK: 
G.P.   PUTNAM,   15  5   BROADWAY 


MDCCCLII. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1851, 

By  Feedekic  Saunders, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 
Soutliern  District  of  New-York. 


GIFT 


Angell,  Engel  &  Hewitt, 

Printer  1^, 
1  Spruce-street,  New- York. 


5z5 


TO 


WILLIAM  CULLEN  BRYANT,  ESQ., 


IS  INSCRIBED, 


WITH  THE 


SINCERE   RESPECT     OF 


THE  AUTHOR. 


531 


CONTENTS. 

Page 
Chapter  I.— Introductory— Historic  and  Literary  Associations— Roman  Lon- 
don—Ancient City  Boundaries  and  Forts— Present  Extent— Social  Condi- 
tion—Local  Casualties  in  Early  Times— Modem  Architectural  Improve- 
ments—Physical Aspect  of  the  City,  etc.  .....       13 

Chapter  II.— Hyde  Park— The  Crystal  Palace— Its  Dimensions  and  Cost— Its 
Splendid  Appearance— Influence  of  this  Industrial  Congress  of  Nations  on 
the  Worid— Apsley  House— The  Iron  Duke— Eari  of  Elgin's  House— Bath 
House— Devonshire  House— Pulteney  Hotel— House  of  Murray,  the  Pub- 
lisher—Burlington House— the  Albany.  .....       34 

Chapter  III,— St.  James's-street- Crockford's,  the  Travellers',  and  other  Club 
Houses— The  Clubs  of  Johnson's  Days— Drawing  Room  Day  at  St.  James's 
— Bridgewater  House— Stafford  House— Rogers's  House— Johnson  and 
Savage— Pall  Mall— Charies  II.— Dodsley— St.  James's  Palace— Bucking, 
ham  Palace  -Royal  Procession  to  Pariiament— St.  James's  Park— Milton's 
House— Peace  Celebration— the  Horse  Guards,  etc.      ....       52 

Chapter  IV.— The  Admiralty— The  Horse  Guards— Whitehall  Chapel— The 
Treasury-Downing-street- Westminster  Abbey— Henry  VII. 's  Chapel- 
Poets'  Come^-Chapel  of  St.  Edward  the  Confessor— Funeral  Obsequies 
of  Cromwell— The  Sanctuary— St.  Margaret's  Church— Westminster  Hail 
and  its  Historical  Associations— Palace  Yard— Execution  of  Sir  Walter 
Raleigh— The  Star  Chamber,  and  Courts  of  Law.      ....       84 

Chapter  V.— The  New  Houses  of  Pariiament— Interior  View— Vauxhall— 
Lambeth  Palace— Lollards'  Tower— Westminster  Bridge— King-street— Sir 
Robert  Peel's  House— Charing  Cross— Equestrian  Statue  of  Charles  I.— 
Statue  of  George  HI.- Scotland  Yard— British  Institution— The  National 
Gallery— Nortliumberland  House — Craven-street— Norfolk -street— Denh  am 
House— The  Adelphi— Salisbury-street— The  Savoy— Waterioo  Bridge— 
Burieigh  House.  .....•••      116 


VI  C0NTENT8. 

Chapter  VI.— Bow-street—Covent  Garden— Anecdote  of  Dryden  and  Tonson 
—St.  Paul's  Church,  Covent  Garden— The  Garrick  Club— WiJl's  Coffee 
House  and  others — Somerset  House— King's  College — St.  Clement  Dane's 
—Lincoln's  Inn  Square— Lincoln's  Inn  Fields— Execution  of  Lord  William 
Russell— The  Soane  Museum— Franklin's  Printing  Office— Temple  Bar, 
Ancient  Custom  of  Closing  the  Gates- Booksellers  of  Early  Times— Dr. 
Johnson's  Residences— Child's  Banking  House  .  .  .  .145 

ChapterVII.— Ticket  Porters— The  Temple— Temple  Church— Hall  of  Mid- 
dle Temple— Anecdotes  of  Goldsmith  and  Johnson— St.  Dunstan's  Church 
—Bolt  Court— Booksellers  of  Fleet-street— St.  Bride's  Church— Salisbury- 
square— Bridewell— Monastery  of  the  Black  Friars— Blackfriars'  Bridge 
—Play-house  Yard— Printing-house  Square— the  "  Times  "— Baynard 
Castle— Ludgate  Hill— Old  Bailey— Green  Arbor  Court— St.  Sepulchre's 
Church— Stationers'  Hall— Paternoster  Row— The  Chapter  Coffee  House 
— Panyer  Alley— Warwick  Lane—Newgate  Market.  .  .  .166 

Chapter  VIII.— Johnson  the  Bookseller— St.  Paul's  Cathedral— Its  Interior- 
Monuments— Anecdote  of  Dr.  Donne— View  from  the  Summit  of  St.  Paul's 
—Anniversary  of  tlie  Charity  Children  in  St.  Paul's— St.  Paul's  Church- 
yard- Doctors'  Commons— Heralds'  College~St.  Paul's  School,  Cheapside 
—Bread-street— Guildhall— The  Poultry— Old  Jewry— The  Mansion  House 
—Bank  of  England— St.  Stephen's  Church,  Walbrook— Lombard-street— 
St.  Mary's,  Walworth— St.  Olave's  Church— St.  Mary's,  Aldermanbury 
—St.  Magnus'— St.  Augustine's— The  Royal  Exchange— Lloyds'— The 
North  and  South  American  Coffee  House— Garraway's  Coffee  House- 
Pope's  Head  Alley— St.  Peter's,  Cornhill--South  Sea  House— Aldgate— 
East  India  House.  ........     185 

Chapter  IX.— London  Stone— Anecdote  of  Jack  Cade— Cannon-street— The 
Boar's  Head— Eastcheap— London  Bridge— Historical  Sketch  of  London 
Bridge— Winchester  Palace— St.  Saviour's  Church— The  Ladye  Chapel— 
The  Globe  Theatre— The  Bear  Gardens — Barclay  and  Perkins's  Brewery — 
The  Tabard— Fermondsey  Abbey— Guy's  Hospital— The  Monument— 
Bilhngsgate~St.  Michael's  Church— Church  of  St.  Mary-at-Hill- The 
Custom  House— New  Coal  Exchange— Tower-Hill,  its  Memories— The 
Tower  of  London,  its  History— The  Armory— Jewel  House— Record  Ofiice 
—dueenhithe- The  Royal  Mint.      ...  ...      213 

Chapter  X.— Street  Organists— The  Thames  Tunnel— London  Docks— Dept- 
ford  and  Woolwich— Greenwicli  Hospital— Crutched  Friars— The  Mino- 
ries— Lord  Cobham— East  Smithfield— Ratcliffe  Highway— Aldgate— 
Whitechapel—Bishopsgate-street— Crosby-  Hall— St.  Giles's,  Cripplegate— 


CONTENTS. 

Barbican—Moorfields— Finsbary-square—Bunhill  Fields—Battle  Bridge- 
Old  St.  Pancras— Islington— Canonbury  House— Collins's  House— Charles 
Lamb's  Cottage— Chalk  Farm— St.  James's  Chapel— Hampstead—Kensal 
Green  Cemetery— Highgate—Harrow-on-the-Hill—Aylesbury-street,  Clerk- 
enwell— Anecdote  of  Thomas  Britton— Old-street  Road— St.  Botolph's 
Church— Little  Britain  and  its  Booksellers— The  Post  Office.. 

Chapter  XL— Christ's  Hospital— St.  John's  Gate— Pie  Comer— Smithfield— St. 
Bartholomew's  Church  and  Hospital— Ely  Place  and  House— Hatton  Gar- 
den—Edward Irving— St.  Andrew's  Church— The  Blue  Boai^Fleur-de- 
lys  Court— Dwelling-place  of  Dryden— Thomas  Chatterton— Gray's  Inn 
and  its  distinguished  Residents— Red  Lion-street— Holborn—Black-Letter 
Booksellers— Great  dueen-street— Anecdote  of  Dr.  Radcliff"  and  Sir  God- 
frey  Kneller— Leicester-square— St.  Anne's  Church,  Soho— Prince's-street 
—St.  Giles's-The  British  Museum— Bloomsbury-square— Newman-street 
—  Argyll-street— Conduit-street  —  George-street,  Hanover-square— Bond- 
street— Brooke-street— The  Colosseum.  ..... 

Chapter  XII.— The  Zoological  Gardens— Royal  Botanical  Gardens,  Regent's 
Park— Madame  Tussaud's  Exhibition— Gore  House— Kensington  Gardens 
and  Palace— Holland  House— Chelsea  Hospital  and  Church— Battersea— 
Putney— Fulham,  and  its  Literary  Celebrities— Chiswick  House— Horticul- 
tural Gardens— Kew  Church— Sion  House— Isleworth  Church— Richmond 
Park  and  Church— Strawberry  Hill— Hampton  Court  Palace— Bushy  Park- 
Eton  College— St.  George's  Chapel— Windsor  Castle— Conclusion.    . 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Interior  View  of  the  Crystal  Palace    .    .     Frontispiece 

View  of  the  Tower  of  London Vignette 

Distant  View  of  London Page  33 

The  Crystal  Palace 39 

Apsley  House 45 

The  Travellers'  Club 63 

The  Army  and  Navy  Club 69 

Bridgewate^  House 63 

Stafford  House 67 

House  of  Samuel  Rogers 70 

St.  James's  Palace 76 

Henry  VIL's  Chapel 95 

Interior  View 98 

Poets'  Corner,  Westminster  Abbey 101 

The  New  Houses  OF  Parliament 117 

The  Gateway  of  Lambeth  Palace 123 

The  Hall  of  Lambeth  Palace 124 

House  of  Sir  Robert  Peel 127 

Somerset  House 163 

Temple  Bar 169 

The  Temple  Church ,  •    .    .    168 


X  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Interior  View 1C9 

St.  Paul's  from  the  Thames 177 

St.  Paul's  Cathedral 187 

Interior  View 192 

The  Mansion  House 199 

The  Royal  Exchange 206 

The  East  India  House 211 

Custom  House 225 

The  Tower  of  London 23i 

The  Post  Office 254 

St.  Bartholomew's  Church       259 

The  British  Museum 274 

Chiswick  House 287 

Holland  House 288 

Hampton  Court ^    .    .    .  291 

Windsor  Castle 299 

View  from  Windsor  Park 303 


TO   THE  READER 


The  intention  of  this  volume  is  to  furnish  a  compact 
Manual  for  persons  visiting  the  British  Metropolis,  or  who 
contemplate  making  the  transatlantic  tour.  It  is  the  first 
book  of  the  kind  published  in  this  country,  and  it  dif- 
fer from  ordinary  Guide-books,  in  its  indicating  in  a 
brief,  suggestive  way,  the  numerous  shrines  of  genius,  his- 
torical localities,  and  various  memorabilia  of  London.  More 
than  any  other  city  of  Europe,  the  British  capital  abounds 
with  "  nooks  and  corners"  and  -the  memorials  of  the  great 
and  good  of  past  times ;  and  it  is  this  precise  kind  of  informa- 
tion— which  the  lover  of  literature  and  the  intelligent  tourist 
most  desires,  but  which  is  usually  inaccessible — that  the 
present  Manual  is  intended  to  supply.  In  a  word,  it  will 
exhibit  London,  past  and  present,  at  one  view. 


Xll  TO  THE  READEE. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  little  volume,  the  compiler 
has  collated  the  best  authorities  for  the  verification  of  facts 
and  dates  ;  and  he  hereby  gratefully  acknowledges  his  obli- 
gations to  the  valuable  works  of  Cunningham,  Knight, 
Jesse,  Leigh  Hunt,  Mackay,  etc., — whose  important  anti- 
quarian researches  have  so  materially  tended  to  render  this 
"City  of  the  World"  conspicuous  in  the  annals  of  Time, 
above  any  of  the  capitals  of  the  classic  ages. 


MEMORIES 


&BEAT    METROPOLIS 


CHAPTER     I. 

Introductory — Historic  and  Literary  Associations — Roman  London— Ancient 
City  Boundaries  and  Forts— Present  Extent — Social  Condition — Local 
Casualties  in  early  times — Modern  Arcliitectural  Improvements— Phy- 
sical Aspect  of  the  City,  etc. 

^^Ol^DON,  from  the   limits  of  the 
Tower  to  the  Crystal  Palace, 
is -of  itself,  like  that  superb 
structure,  as  great  a  wonder 
as  any  of  the  marvels  it  con- 
tains, on  account  of  its  pro- 
digious proportions. 
The  advent  of  the  World's  Jubilee  of  Industry, 
which  has  attracted  all  eyes  to  the  British  Capital, 
affords  a  good  apology  for  presenting  the  follow- 
ing memoranda  of  its  numerous  objects  of  interest. 


14  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

There  is  no  spot  on  the  globe  more  rife  with 
historic  incident  and  association,  or  more  richly 
studded  with  the  memorials  of  the  past,  and  the 
progressive  advancement  of  civilization  and  splen- 
dor than  is  this  great  metropolis.  To  those  at  least 
who  may  not  be  familiar  with  the  topography  of 
the  mighty  city — its  densely  crowded  streets,  lanes 
and  alleys,  its  antique  "  nooks  and  corners,"  and 
its  splendid  -  palaces,  it  is  believed  the  following 
pages  will  not  prove  devoid  of  interest. 

Respect,  and  even  veneration  for  the  vestiges 
of  antiquity  may  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  charac- 
teristics of  the  English  mind.  It  is  to  this  con- 
servative feeling  we  doubtless  are  indebted  for  the 
preservation  of  the  numerous  relics  of  the  past, 
which  illustrate  the  history  of  this  mighty  modern 
Babylon.  The  spirit  of  modern  innovation,  while 
it  enriches  by  an  improved  taste,  also  demands  the 
.sacrifice  of  much  that  possesses  an  imperishable 
interest  in  the  past.  Considering  its  vast  extent, 
and  its  still  increasing  growth,  London,  however, 
has  suffered  less  spoliation  in  this  respect,  than 
any  other  city.  It  is  on  this  account  that  it  is  re- 
garded as  an  immense  museum  of  the  curious  and 
the  antique,  as  well  as  the  emporium  of  modern 
art.  The  history  of  England  being  antecedent  to, 
and  part  of  our  own,  necessarily  links  that  land 


GREAT     METROPOLIS.  15 

to  ours  by  the  closest  ties  :  all,  therefore,  that  per- 
tains to  the  former,  must  ever  enlist  the  sympathies 
of  the  latter.      There   is   indeed   connected .  with 
these  mementoes  of  the  past,  a  strange  fascination 
to  the  lover  of  his  country,  and  its  great  men,  and 
more   especially  is   it  so  in  all  that  concerns  its 
authors.     The    several    dwelling    places   of    those 
who  have   enriched   our  literature,   or  illustrated 
the  great  moral  maxims  of  life,  become  endeared 
to  our  hearts ; — these  are  the  shrines   consecrated 
by  the   oenus  loci^ — they  seem    almost  part   and 
parcel  of  the  departed.     Home  is  the   sanctuary 
of  the  affections,  and  it  is  the  like  influence  of  as- 
sociation that  causes  us  to  cherish  the  fond  memo- 
rials of  the  benefactors  of  our  race.     What  lover 
of,  Shakspeare,  but  would  delight  to  linger  with- 
in the  precincts  of  the  w^ell-remembered  '  Globe ' 
at  Southwark,    or  the  final  resting  place  of   the 
mighty  bard  of  Avon  ?     "Who,  in  reading  Chaucer's 
tales  of  the  Canterbury  Pilgrims,  would  not  will- 
ingly perform  a  pilgrimage  himself,  that  he  might 
gaze  upon  the  old   Tabard.     Or  as  we  pore  over 
the   pleasant  pages  of  Goldsmith,  or  become  rapt 
in  the  lofty  sublimities  of  Milton's  spiritual  ima- 
geries,— do  we  not  instinctively  long  to   catch   a 
glimpse  of  the  dingy  abode  of  the  former,  in  Green 
Arbor  Court,  or  the  several  localities   which   the 


16  MEMORIES    OF    THE 

genius  of  our  modern  Homer  lias  rendered  classic. 
With  what  a  genial  temper  does  Mrs.  Hall  apostro- 
phize on  this  subject : 

"  O  rare  old  London  !  It  would  be  difficult  for 
us  to  describe  the  affection  we  entertain  for  this 
noble  city — venerable  for  its  antiquity,  and  re- 
vered for  its  associations  with  our  great  men — 
although  it  combines  so  much  that  occasions  us 
distress  of  mind  with  so  much  that  is  dear  and 
honored  to  our  every  feeling  of  existence.  We 
should  never  have  loved  it  so  well  if  we  had  not 
become  acquainted  with  the  histories  of  some  of  its 
public  buildings,  its  houses,  its  holy  temples,  one  by 
one,  almost  stone  by  stone  ;  and  yet  how  little  we 
know  of  what  we  might  know,  and  of  what  we  hope 
yet  to  learn.  We  marvel  more  and  more  how  we 
could  ever  have  passed  a  peculiar-looking  house 
without  inquiring,  '  Who  lived  there  V  Certainly, 
"vve  move  through  life  very  listlessly  ;  we  go  along 
its  highways  and  into  its  by-lanes  without  being 
stirred  by  the  immortality  around  us ;  we  close  our 
eyes  against  the  evidences  of  change  which  are  the 
accompaniments  of  life ;  and  we  plod  on,  of  the 
earth — earthy,  with  little  more  than  a  fluttering 
effort  to  raise  our  minds  by  the  contemplation  of 
the  acts  of  those  glorious  spirits  who  elevated 
England  to  the  rank  she  holds  among  nations." 


aP.EAT     INIETROPOLIS.  17 

The  Yatican  boasts  of  its  treasured  relics  of 
centuries  ;  and  England  possesses  the  collective 
resources  of  genius  and  learning.  London  has 
been  styled  the  birth-place  of  genius — here  the 
poet  has  sung  his  sweetest  strains — the  historian 
and  philosopher  solved  the  deep  problems  of  truth 
— it  was  here  a  Milton  produced  the  sublimest  of 
all  uninspired  compositions — a  Shakspeare  por- 
trayed, with  such,  masterly  power,  the  workings 
of  the  human  heart ;  here,  too,  ideal  art  has  de- 
picted in  glowing  colors  and  with  startling  effect, 
the  images  of  the  soul ;  and  not  least,  though,  last, 
the  mighty  minds  of  old,  wbo  have  contended  for 
tKe  truth  of  a  pure  Christianity. 

Leigli  Hunt  pleasantly  says  :  "  I  can  no  more 
pass  through  Westminster  without  thinking  of  Mil- 
ton ;  or  the  Borough,  without  thinking  of  Chaucer 
and  Shakspeare ;  or  Gray's  Inn,  without  calling 
Bacon  to  mind;  or  Bloomsbury -square,  without 
Steele  and  Akenside ;  than  I  can  prefer  brick  and 
mortar  to  wit  and  poetry,  or  not  see  a  beauty  upon 
it  beyond  architecture  in  the  splendor  of  the  re- 
collection. I  once  had  duties  to  perform  which 
kept  me  out  late  at  night,  and  severely  taxed  my 
health  and  spirits.  My  path  lay  through  a  neigh- 
borhood in  which  Dryden  lived,  and  though 
nothing  could  be  more  common-place,  and  I  used 


18  MEMOKIES    OF    THE 

to  be  tired  to  the  heart  and  soul  of  me,  I  never 
hesitated  to  go  a  little  out  of  the  way,  purely  that 
I  might  pass  through  Gerard-street,  and  so  give 
myself  the  shadow  of  a  pleasant  thought." 

"  The  love 
Of  mighty  minds  doth  hallow,  in  the  core 
Of  human  hearts,  the  ruin  of  a  wall 
Where  dwelt  the  wise  and  wondrous." 

A  few  preliminary  remarks  touching  the  statis- 
tics of  the  city,  and  we  commence  our  ad  libitum 
perambulations  in  quest  of  these  choice  memorials 
of  the  gifted  and  the  great :  and  in  soliciting  the 
reader  to  accompany  us,  we  may  be  allowed  to  pre- 
mise that  in  our  pleasant  pursuit,  we  may  have  to 
pass  through  many  sinuous  streets  and  dark  ignoble 
alleys,  now  almost  impervious  to  the  light  of  heaven. 

Next  to  old  Rome,  London  boasts  a  greater 
antiquity  than  any  of  the  existing  Capitals  of  the 
world.  It  is  commonly  supposed  that  the  Roman 
occupation  of  Britain  formed  but  a  brief  episode 
in  the  history  of  the  latter  ;  yet  it  is  asserted  by 
no  less  an  authority  than  Camden,  that  it  was  a 
Roman  tributary  during  four  hundred  and  seventy- 
six  years.  Other  historians  insist  that  it  existed 
nearly  six  centuries.  Leaving  such  inquiries,  how- 
ever, to  be  determined  by  more  competent  pens, 
we   shall   content  ourself  with  merely  picking  up 


GREAT    METROPOLIS.  19 

by  the  way-side,  whatever  we  may,  of  the  shreds 
and  patches  of  her  history,  as  they  still  exist  in 
shattered  stones,  mouldering  monmnents,  or  dila- 
pidated dwelling-places.  The  most  ancient  relic 
of  its  Eoman  history  is  doubtless  London  Stone^ 
concerning  which  we  shall  speak  hereafter  more 
particularly.  Some  vestiges  of  the  Roman  wall 
have  been  at  different  times  discovered  within 
various  sections  of  the  ancient  city  limits.  The 
four  princij^al  gates  were  the  following : — Aldgate, 
on  the  east ;  Bridgegate,  on  the  south ;  Newgate, 
on  the  west ;  Aldersgate,  on  the  north.  There 
were  others  also,  from  which  the  names  have 
descended, — Ludgate,  Botolph-gate,  Cripplegate, 
Temple-bar,  Tower  postern,  Dowgate,  and  Billings- 
gate, or  Belins-gate  from  its  founder  of  that  name, 
who  flourished,  according  to  redoubtable  authori- 
ties, about  the  fourth  century  prior  to  the  Chris- 
tian era.  In  early  Roman  records,  the  Thames  is 
referred  to  as  a  very  narrow  tributary  stream. 
The  original  site  of  the  city  was  bounded  on  the 
south  by  the  Thames,  and  on  the  north  by  the 
marshes,  as  is  clearly  indicated  by  the  name  still 
retained,  Finsbury,  from  fens^  marshy  ground. 
The  distance  from  the  Tower  to  Blackfriars  is 
about  a  mile,  so  that  Roman  London  was  not  of 
great    extent.     Fleet-street,   so    named    from    the 


20  JMEM0RIE8    OF   THE 

stream  that  formerly  ran  tlirough  it,  was  crossed  by 
a  bridge  at  the  junction  of  Ludgate,  which  latter 
was  a  royal  residence  in  the  time  of  King  John. 
On  its  site  Bridewell  was  afterwards  erected,  and 
it  was  there  Henry  YIII.  entertained  Charles 
Y.,  in  1522.  From  being  a  royal  residence  it 
at  length  fell  into  disrepute,  and  was  used  as 
a  prison  for  debtors  and  petty  offenders.  London, 
as  to  its  name,  according  to  the  best  authorities, 
is  derived  from  Llyn — Din^  "  the  town  on  the 
lake."  Csesar,  who  effected  a  landing  on  the 
island  after  a  severe  struggle  in  the  year  53  B.C., 
is  the  first  writer  from  whom  any  authentic  ac- 
counts of  the  ancient  Britons  have  descended  to 
us.  Druidism  obtained  in  all  its  horrors  in  ancient 
Britain,  if  it  did  not  indeed  originate  there. 
'  Stone-henge,'  near  Salisbury,  is  a  proof  of  this. 
At  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  city,  on  the  banks 
of  the  Thames,  stands  the  ancient  Tower  of  Lon- 
don, built  by  Julius  Caesar — the  sanguinary  memo- 
rial of  the  terrible  despotisms  and  cruelties  of  the 
barbaric  age.  On  the  west,  the  venerable  Abbey 
of  Westminster  rears  itself  in  lofty  and  imposing 
grandeur,  within  whose  mouldering  arches  repose 
the  ashes  of  the  mighty  dead  :  while  central  to  the 
city  proper,  rises  the  majestic  cathedral  of  St. 
Paul, — ^with  one  solitary  exception  the  most  sym- 


GREAT    METROPOLIS.  21 

metrical  and  splendid  temple  in  Christendom, 
whose  colossal  dome,  peering  through  the  dusky 
atmosphere,  seems  to  keep  saintly  vigils  over  the 
vast  metropolis.  In  juxtaposition  with  "West- 
minster Abbey,  may  be  seen  that  sumptuous 
gothic  pile,  the  new  Houses  of  Parliament,  in 
which  the  collective  wisdom  of  a  nation  is  con- 
vened, to  arbitrate  the  destinies  and  enact  the  laws 
that  govern  the  realm.  This  close  proximity  of 
Westminster  Abbey  with  the  two  Houses  of  Par- 
liament seems  to  present  a  curious  type  of  the 
union  of  Church  and  State. 

It  is  singular  to  reflect,  that  a  little  more  than 
two  centuries  ago,  it  was  deemed  necessary  by 
Queen  Elizabeth,  to  issue  a  proclamation  against 
the  erection  of  any  new  buildings — the  extent  of 
the  city,  as  it  then  existed,  being  considered  by  her 
ladyship  as  positively  alarming.  Queen  Victoria, 
however,  seems  to  entertain  a  very  different  opinion, 
for  she  not  only  permits  the  removal  of  dark  and 
narrow  alleys,  which  excluded  the  light  of  heaven, 
to  make  way  for  the  erection  of  broad  streets 
adorned  with  splendid  edifices  in  their  stead,  but 
she  has  even  added  to  the  mammoth  city  during 
the  last  ten  years,  no  less  than  two  hundred  miles 
of  new  streets !  It  is  estimated  by  Cunningham 
that  if  the  streets  of  the  Metropolis  were  put  to- 


22  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

gether  they  would  extend  to  3000  miles  in  length. 
The  main  thoroughfares  are  traversed  by  3000 
omnibuses,  and  3500  cabs  (besides  private  car- 
riages and  carts,)  employing  40,000  horses. 

In  addition  to  these  noisy  and  thronged 
thoroughfares,  we  have  what  has  been  called  "  the 
silent  highway"  of  the  Thames,  running  through 
the  heart  of  the  Metropolis,  and  traversed  continu- 
ally by  hundreds  of  steamboats,  which  take  up  and 
set  down  passengers  at  the  different  places  between 
Chelsea  and  Gravesend. 

So  much  for  the  internal  communications  of  the 
Metropolis.  Its  connection  with  the  provinces  is 
kept  up  by  the  various  railways  which  diverge 
from  it  in  every  direction.  By  means  of  these  dif- 
ferent lines,  along  which  the  telegraph  is  laid  down, 
the  Metropolis  is  put  in  instant  connection  with 
upwards  of  a  hundred  of  the  chief  cities  and  towns 
of  the  United  Kingdom.  The  telegraph  is  also 
laid  down  beneath  the  streets  between  the  City 
and  the  West  End,  a  branch  office  being  situated 
at  the  Strand,  (sending  a  wire  to  the  Government 
offices  at  Whitehall).  From  the  London  Bridge 
wharf  and  from  the  Tower-stairs,  start  the  various 
Continental  steamers. 

"  By  the  latest  returns,"  (we  cite  the  testimony  of 
a  recent  London  journalist,)  "  the  metropolis  cover- 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  23 

ed  an  extent  of  nearly  forty-five  thousand  acres, 
and  contained  upward  of  three  hundred  thousand 
houses,  occupied  by  about  two  million  &ve  hundred 
thousand  souls ;  constituting  not  only  the  densest, 
but  the  busiest  hive,  the  most  wondrous  workshop, 
and  the  richest  bank  in  the  world.  The  mere  name 
of  London  awakens  a  thousand  trains  of  varied 
reflection.  It  is  the  focus  of  modern  civilization — 
the  great  capital  of  the  world.  To  the  west,  it  is 
a  city  of  palaces,  adorned  with  parks,  and  ennobled 
with  triumphal  arches,  grand  statues,  and  stately 
monuments ;  to  the  east,  it  presents  a  labyrinth  of 
narrow  lanes,  dingy  counting-houses,  and  huge 
masses  of  warehouses,  with  doors  and  cranes  rang- 
ed one  above  another,  in  towering  succession.  It 
is  a  vast  bricken  multitute — a  strange  incongruous 
chaos  of  wealth  and  want,  ambition  and  despair — 
of  the  brightest  charity  and  the  darkest  crime — 
where  there  are  more  houses  and  more  houseless, 
more  feasting  and  famishing,  than  upon  any  other 
spot  on  earth."  Pampered  luxury  riots  in  prodi- 
gal excesses,  and  squalid  poverty  pines  in  pitiless 
penury  and  wretchedness.  The  opulent  state  of  a 
coroneted  aristocracy,  and 'the  wreck  of  the  despis- 
ed and  depraved  children  of  poverty  and  crime,  are 
there  to  be  seen  in  glaring  and  painful  contrast. 
In  a  word,  London  presents  an  epitome  not  only 


24  MEMORIES    OF   THE 

of  the  nation,  but  of  the  world.  Within  its  pre- 
cincts are  to  be  found  all  classes  and  circles  of  life 
— the  intellectual,  moral,  and  social,  as  well  as  the 
untutored  and  debased — each  revolving  in  its  seve- 
ral sphere.  It  is  the  grand  theatre  of  life,  in  which 
all  imaginable  characters  severally  enact  their  parts. 
The  merchant,  eager  in  his  pursuit  of  gain,  the 
hireling,  bending  under  the  pressure  of  his  toil,  the 
devotees  of  science  and  literature,  busily  intent 
upon  exploring  the  mysteries  of  nature  and  art ; 
while  the  proud  patrician,  and  the  votaries  of  plea- 
sure, with  butterfly  wing,  flutter  and  dazzle  amid 
their  splendor  and  luxury. 

Speaking  of  the  entertainment  the  streets  of  the 
British  Metropolis  afforded  him,  Boswell  remarks  : 
"  I  have  often  amused  myself  with  thinking  how 
different  a  place  London  is,  to  different  people. 
They  whose  narrow  minds  are  contracted  to  the 
consideration  of  some  one  particular  pursuit,  view  it 
only  through  that  medium.  A  politician  thinks  of 
it  only  as  the  seat  of  government  in  its  different  de- 
partments ;  a  grazier,  as  a  vast  market  for  cattle  ;  a 
mercantile  man,  as  a  place  where  a  prodigious  deal 
of  business  is  done  upon  'Change ;  a  dramatic  enthu- 
siast, as  the  grand  scene  of  theatrical  entertainments ; 
a  man  of  pleasure,  as  an  assemblage  of  taverns,  &c. ; 
but  the  intellectual  man  is  struck  with  it  as  com- 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  25 

prehending  the  whole  of  human  life  in  all  its  vari- 
ety, the  contemplation  of  which  is  inexhaustible." 

London — opulent,  enlai'ged,  and  still 
Increasing  London  !     Babylon  of  old, 
Not  more  the  glory  of  the  world  than  she, 
A  more  accomplished  world's  chief  glory  now. 

Before,  however,  we  commence  our  perigrina- 
tions,  we  are  tempted  to  give  a  recent  sketch  from 
one  of  the  London  papers,  of  the  city  as  it  pre- 
sents itself  by  night.  "  Those  who  have  only  seen 
London  in  the  day-time,  with  its  flood  of  life,  rush- 
ing through  its  arteries  to  its  restless  heart,  know 
it  not  in  its  grandest  aspect.  It  is  not  in  the  noise 
and  roar  of  the  cataract  of  commerce  pouring 
through  its  streets,  nor  in  its  forest  of  ships,  nor  in 
its  vast  docks  and  warehouses,  that  its  true  solemni- 
ty is  to  be  seen.  To  behold  it  in  its  greatest  subli- 
mity, it  must  be  contemplated  by  night,  afar  off 
from  an  eminence.  The  noblest  prospect  in  the 
world,  it  has  been  well  said,  is  London  viewed  from 
the  suburbs  on  a  clear  winter's  evening. 

"The  stars  are  shining  in  the  heavens;  but 
there  is  another  firmament  spread  below,  with  its 
millions  of  bright  lights  glittering  at  our  feet.  Line 
after  line  sparkles,  like  the  trails  left  by  meteors, 
cutting  and  crossing  one  another,  till  they  are  lost 
in  the  haze  of  the  distance.     Over  the  whole  there 


26  IVTEMORIES   OF   THE 

hangs  a  lurid  cloud,  bright  as  if  the  monster  city 
were  in  flames,  and  looking  afar  off  like  the  sea  by 
night,  made  phosphorescent  by  the  million  crea- 
tures dwelling  within  it.  At  night  it  is  that  the 
strange  anomalies  of  London  are  best  seen.  Then, 
as  the  hum  of  life  ceases,  and  shops  darken,  and 
the  gaudy  gin-palaces  thrust  forth  their  ragged, 
squalid  crowds  to  pace  the  streets,  London  puts  on 
its  most  solemn  look  of  all.  On  the  benches  of  the 
parks,  in  the  niches  of  the  bridges,  and  in  the  litter 
of  the  markets,  are  huddled  together  the  homeless 
and  the  destitute.  The  only  living  things  that 
haunt  the  streets,  are  the  poor  unfortunate  beings, 
who  stand  shivering  in  their  finery,  waiting  to 
catch  the  drunkard  as  he  goes  shouting  homewards. 
Here  on  a  door-step  crouches  some  shoeless  child, 
whose  day's  begging  has  not  brought  it  enough  to 
purchase  even  the  two-penny  bed  that  its  young 
companions  in  beggary  have  gone  to.  There,  where 
the  stones  are  taken  up  and  piled  high  in  the  road, 
and  the  gas  streams  from  a  tall  pipe  in  the  centre 
of  the  street  in  a  flag  of  flame — there,  round  the 
red  glowing  coke  fire,  are  grouped  a  ragged  crowd, 
smoking  or  dozing  through  the  night,  beside  it. 
Then,  as  the  streets  grow  blue  with  the  coming 
light,  and  the  church  spires  and  chimney  tops 
stand  out  against  the  sky  with  a  sharpness  of  out- 


GKEAT    METROPOLIS.  27 

line  tliat  is  seen  only  in  London  before  its  million 
fires  cover  the  town  with  their  pall  of  smoke — then 
come  sauntering  forth  the  unwashed  poor,  some 
with  greasy  wallets  on  their  backs,  to  hunt  over 
each  dirt  heap,  and  eke  out  life  by  seeking  refuse 
bones,  or  stray  rags  and  pieces  of  old  iron  :  others 
on  their  way  to  their  work,  gathered  at  the  corner 
of  the  street  round  the  breakfast-stall,  and  blowing 
saucers  of  steaming  coffee  drawn  from  tall  tin  cans, 
with  the  fire  shining  crimson  through  the  holes  be- 
neath; whilst  already  the  little  slattern  girl,  with 
her  basket  slung  before  her,  screams  water-cresses 
through  the  sleeping  streets.  Yet  who,  to  see  the 
squalor  and  wretchedness  of  London  by  night, 
would  believe  that  twenty-nine  of  the  London 
bankers,  have  cleared  as  much  as  nine  hundred 
and  fifty-four  million  jjounds  sterling^  in  one  year^ 
the  average  being  more  than  three  millions  of  mo- 
ney daily- — or  that  the  loans  of  merely  one  house 
in  the  city  throughout  the  year  exceed  thirty  mil- 
lions ! " 

Where  London  now  stands,  some  sixteen  or 
eighteen  centuries  back,  stood  an  immense  forest, 
extending  from  the  Thames  on  one  side,  to  Epping, 
and  Hainault  on  the  other. 

As  far  back  as  one  thousand  years — at  which 
period  the  several  Saxons  kingdoms  were  amalga- 


28  MEMOEIES    OF   THE 

mated  under  Egbert,  the  first  king  of  all  England — 
London  rose  into  importance  as  its  capital.  It  was 
enclosed  by  walls,  defended  bj  strong  bastions, 
and  prepared  for  defence  against  Northern  and 
other  marauders.  About  this  period  the  Thames 
extended  over  the  low  lands  as  far  as  Battle  Bridge, 
passing  between  Holborn-Hill  and  Snow-Hill. 
Another  part  of  it  ran  through,  where  now  stands 
Bishopsgate,  Moorgate,  Walbrook  and  Dowgate, 
over  which  were  wooden  bridges. 

From  the  earliest  times,  London  has  suffered 
greatly  both  by  fire  and  pestilence.  In  Y60-Y65, 
and  793,  it  was  nearly  destroyed  by  fire.  In  1563, 
twenty  thousand  persons  were  carried  off  by  the 
plague ;  in  1610,  forty  thousand,  and  in  1665,  no 
less  than  eighty  thousand  persons  fell  victims  to 
this  visitation.  Immediately  after,  occurred  (in 
1666)  the  Great  Fire  of  London,  destroying  nearly 
three-fourths  of  the  city,  and  property  to  the 
amount  of  ten  millions  sterling. 

London  has  also  at  times  suffered  from  insur- 
rections and  commotions  within  its  walls ;  in  the 
reign  of  Eichard  11. ,  by  Wat.  Tyler ;  in  the  reign 
of  Henry  YL,  by  Jack  Cade,  and  in  that  of 
Charles  I.  between  him  and  the  Parliament,  etc. 
It  was  also,  in  1Y03,  visited  by  a  storm,  which 
blew  down   two  thousand  chimneys,  stripped  the 


GREAT    METROPOLIS.  29 

lead  off  several  churclies,  killed  thirty  or  forty 
persons,  sank  four  hundred  vessels  in  the  Thames, 
and  caused  a  loss  £2,000,000. 

Three  hundred  years  ago,  London  was  neither 
paved  nor  lighted,  excepting  a  few  lanterns  sus- 
pended, as  in  some  parts  of  Paris,  across  the  road. 
East  Smithfield  was  open  to  Tower  Hill,  Moor- 
fields  was  open  to  the  small  village  of  Huxton, 
and  Finsbury  fields  were  covered  with  wind-mills. 
St.  Giles's  was  in  the  fields,  and  the  Strand  had 
gardens  on  each  side.  Convent-Garden  was  really 
the  garden  of  a  Convent.  Westminster  was  a  very 
small  town ;  Southwark  only  a  few  streets,  (dull, 
dirty,  and  cheerless,)  and  Lambeth  a  little  village 
near  the  Thames.  Still  in  those  days,  England 
could  muster  a  large  army,  and  had  afforded  con- 
siderable assistance  to  the  different  sovereigns  of 
Europe. — And  this  was  London  of  the  olden  time. 

The  improvements  of  London  began  in  the 
reign  of  George  II. — Squares  were  made,  streets 
formed,  churches  erected,  Westminster  Bridge 
built,  the  houses  on  London  bridge  pulled  down, 
and  most  of  the  city  gates  removed. 

Assuming  the  area  of  London  to  be  nineteen 
square  miles,  it  yields  a  population  to  each  mile  of 
very  nearly  130,000  human  creatures,  perform- 
ing within  that  narrow  limit,  all  the  operations  of 


30  MEMORIES    OF    THE 

life  and  death,  mixed  up  in  a  fearful  melee  of  pas- 
sion and  interest,  luxury  and  starvation,  hard  work 
and  indolence ;  besides  an  infinity  of  occupations, 
useful,  ornamental  and  mischievous.  In  the  more 
densely  populated  regions,  the  average  is  doubled. 
A  quarter  of  a  million  of  souls  subsisting  within 
the  limits  of  a  square  mile,  is  a  spectacle  that  can- 
not be  rendered  intelligible  by  written  description. 
The  magnitude  of  its  wretchedness  baffles  us.  In- 
dividual cases  of  extreme  suffering  move  our  sym- 
pathies, but  as  their  number  is  increased,  the  dis- 
tinctness of  misery  diminishes  in  its  influence. 

People  of  rank  and  fashion  in  former  times  oc- 
cupied the  side  of  the  river  Thames,  the  Strand, 
Drury  Lane,  and  the  neighborhood  of  Convent 
Garden,  which  were  then  unenclosed  fields  ;  and 
in  that  neighborhood  was  built,  by  Inigo  Jones,  a 
church  in  the  pure  Tuscan  style,  at  that  period 
the  only  one  in  England.  Merchants  resided 
between  Temple-bar  and  the  Exchange.  Despera- 
does, broken-down  spendthrifts,  and  criminals  of 
all  grades,  resided  in  the  Whitefriars ;  in  Lewk- 
ner's  Lane  lived  many  profligate  characters. 
Books  were  then,  as  now,  sold  in  Paternoster  Eow, 
and  in  Little  Britain, — not  far  from  it;  divinity 
and  classic  books,  on  the  north  side  of  St.  Paul's 
Churchyard ;  law,  history,  and  plays,  about  Tem- 


GKEAT    METROPOLIS.  31 

pie-bar;  French  books  in  the  Strand.  The  cele- 
brated jester  to  Queen  Elizabeth,  Dick  Tarleton, 
kept  a  tavern  in  the  Row,  which  was  much  fre- 
quented by  the  wits  of  the  day. 

Since  these  days,  London  has  passed  through 
many  mutations  ;  it  has  more  than  quadrupled  its 
size,  and  has  not  yet  '  stopped  growing.'  The  cen- 
tralizing tendency  of  the  fashionable  world  is  still 
westward — Belgrave  Square  and  the  vicinity  of 
Hyde  Park.  Of  the  City  proper  we  need  not 
speak,  it  remains  in  statu  quo ;  as  also  does  the 
veritable  Cockney,  who,  ignored  by  his  patrician 
neighbor,  is  wholly  innocent  of  any  participation 
in  the  busy  movements  beyond  his  own  plebeian 
.  circle,  while  his  dormant  ideas  and  plodding  feet, 
possibly  never  pass  beyond  the  limits  of  Temple- 
bar. 

The  vast  labyrinth  of  London  streets  is  enough 
to  baffle  the  best  topographer.  Thousands  who 
live  at  the  one  extremity,  know  nothing  of  those 
residing  at  the  other — as  if  they  were  antipodes. 
IsTo  man  does,  or  can  know  London  in  all  its  de- 
tails. What  does  the  fashionable  fop,  at  the  West 
End,  know  of  the  plebeian  of  the  city,  or  the 
degraded  dwellers  in  the  vicinity  of  Wapping, 
Seven  Dials,  or  Rotherhithe — or  the  thousand 
obscure  and  densely  crowded  courts    and  alleys, 


32  MEMORIES    OF    THE 

east  of  tlie  India  House?  How  manj  in  St. 
elohn's  Wood  could  find  their  way  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Thames  ?  What  memory  would  be 
found  equal  to  the  remembrance  of  all  the  names, 
affluents,  bearings  and  geographical  positions  of 
its  20,000  streets  !  It  is  the  study  of  a  life-time. 
Till  within  the  last  few  years,  London  presented 
comparatively  but  slender  claims  to  architectural 
elegance.  Of  its  public  buildings  there  were  but 
few  that  exhibited  any  great  taste,  while  the  man- 
sions of  the  nobility,  and  the  religious  edifices  of 
the  city  might  also  be  classed  under  the  same  cate- 
gory. With  the  exception  of  St.  Paul's,  the  Abbey 
at  Westminster,  and  Somerset  House,  most  of  the 
splendid  structures  that  now  cluster  so  thickly  its 
numerous  streets,  and  adumbrate  the  vast  opulence 
of  this  mighty  emporium  of  commerce  and  wealth, 
have  been  erected  during  the  last  thirty  years. 
Within  forty  years,  four  or  five  splendid  new  bridges 
have  spanned  the  waters  of  the  Thames.  This  has 
been  owing  to  the  long  interval  of  peace,  which  has 
induced  a  more  fostering  care  and  cultivation  of  art 
and  love  of  refinement.  Although  much  was  accom- 
plished in  this  regard,  during  the  reigns  of  George 
TV.  and  his  immediate  successor,  yet  under  the 
auspices  of  the  reigning  Monarch — the  most  univer- 
sally beloved  of  all  England's  sovereigns — London 


GKEAT     METROPOLIS. 


33 


may  be  said  to  have  attained  its  Augustan  age. 
Stupendous  as  its  present  extent  is,  conjecture  is 
baffled  in  the  attempt  to  estimate  the  vastness  of 
its  constantly  increasing  dimensions  ;  for  it  retains 
within  itself  all  the  elements  which  have  hitherto 
contributed,  under  less  favorable  circumstances,  to 
augment  its  greatness. 

Thus  endeth  our  bird's  eye  view  of  the  Great 
Metropolis ;  a  miniature  sketch  of  which,  as  seen 
from  a  suburban  eminence,  here  meets  the  eye  of 
the  reader.     * 


34 


MEMORIES    OF   THE 


CHAPTER     II. 


Hyde  Park — The  Crystal  Palace — Its  Dimensions  and  Cost— Its  splendid  Ap- 
pearance— Influence  of  this  Industrial  Congress  of  Nations  on  the  World 
— Apsley  House — The  Iron  Duke — Earl  of  Elgin's  House — Bath 
House — Devonshire  House— Pulteney  Hotel — House  of  Mur- 
ray, the  Publisher — Burlington  House — The  Albany. 


lOMMEl^CIJ^G  our  tour  of  the 
city  at  Hyde  Park,  one  of  the 
great  lungs  which  connect  the  ar- 
teries of  this  "  mighty  heart  of 
England,"  we  catch  a  glimpse  of 
2!^  London  to  the  best  advantage. 
It  is  the  largest  of  the  parks  of  London,  measuring 
three  hundred  and  eighty-seven  acres,  and  having 
seven  beautiful  gates.  The  manor  of  Hyde  Park 
in  early  times  belonged  to  the  Abbey  of  West- 
minster ;  at  the  period  of  the  Reformation,  how- 
ever, it  became  the  property  of  the  Crown.  It  is 
the  place  of  rendezvous  and  fashionable  prome- 
nade of  the  aristocracy.  From  three  to  five  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  throngs  of  splendid  equipages 
blockade  its  various  avenues,  and  on  Sundays  the 
display  of  fashion  and  luxurious  splendor  is  to  be 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  35 

seen  in  its  greatest  extent.  It  is  computed  there 
are  about  80,000  private  carriages  in  London  ; 
five  thonsand,  it  has  been  estimated,  may  often  be 
seen  in  Hyde  Park.  The  number  during  the  great 
Exhibition  has  increased  beyond  all  the  power  of 
computation  :  the  leading  thoroughfares  being  in- 
cessantly blocked  up  with  all  sorts  of  vehicles.  Till 
within  a  few  years  past,  Hyde  Park,  Bays  water 
and  Knightsbridge  were  considered  suburban ;  now 
imposing  and  stately  edifices  may  be  seen  ranged 
in  long  lines  of  succession,  making  this  vicinage 
the  most  fashionable  and  splendid  portion  of  the 
'  West  End.'  Luxury  and  splendor  here  vie  with  the 
old  mansions  of  the  aristocracy  in  the  squares  of 
Grosvenor,  Bryanston,  Hanover  and  Cavendish ;  and 
for  sumptuous  magnificence  they  stand  unrivalled. 
But  the  great  crowning  glory  of  Hyde  Park,  and 
indeed  of  the  nation,  is  the  Palace  of  Glass.  This 
triumph  of  architectural  skill  has  been  so  fre- 
quently and  fully  described,  that  we  will  not  de- 
tain the  reader  by  any  minute  recital  of  its  details. 
EEuge  as  this  immense  fabric  is — extending 
over  an  area  of  twenty-two  acres — it  yet  seems 
of  such  frail  transparent  beauty  and  so  delicate 
in  its  structure  as  to  be  scarcely  fitted  to  resist  the 
action  of  the  elements.  It  is  the  most  unique 
and   novel   edifice   ever    constructed    by   the   in- 


36  MEMOllIES    OF   THE 

genuity  and  genius  of  man.  Tlie  entire  building, 
Avhich  is  fabricated  of  iron  and  glass,  measures  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty-one  feet  in  length, 
lour  hundred  and  fifty-six  feet  in  width,  in  the 
broadest  part,  with  a  transept  of  four  hundred  and 
eight  feet  long  and  seventy-two  wide,  intersecting 
the  building  at  right  angles  in  the  middle.  The 
side  walls  rise  in  three  steps, — the  outer  wall  mea- 
suring twenty  four  feet  high,  the  second  and  third 
each  twenty  feet  higher,  or  sixty-four  feet  from  the 
bottom  of  its  supporting  pillars,  giving  within  the 
building  a  great  central  avenue,  or  nave,  seventy- 
two  feet  wide.  The  transept  is  one  hundred  and 
eight  feet  in  length  ;  its  roof  is  semicircular.  The 
space  occupied  on  the  ground  floor  is  seven  hun- 
dred and  seventy-two  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
eighty-four  square  feet,  and  that  of  the  galleries 
above  two  hundred  and  seventeen  thousand  one 
hundred  square  feet.  The  total  cubic  contents  of 
the  building  is  estimated  at  thirty-three  million 
feet !  This  mammoth  structure  has  four  exits  at 
the  east  end,  four  at  the  west,  and  six  on  the  south 
side.  The  main  entrances  are  three  in  number — 
one  at  the  south  end  of  the  transept,  nearly  oppo- 
site the  Prince  of  Wales's  Gate,  richly  ornamented, 
extending  along  its  entire  breadth,  with  seven 
pairs  of  doors,  each  of  eight  feet  span  ;  the  other 


GREAT   METKOPOLIS.  37 

being  at  the  ends  of  the  centre  side,  each  with  nine 
doors  of  similar  size.  There  are  three  thousand 
three  hundred  columns  of  iron,  and  about  nine 
hundred  thousand  superficial  feet  of  glass  used  ir 
the  building.  Beside  other  accessories  and  ap 
pendages,  there  are  arrangements  for  the  supply 
of  water  power,  steam  power,  and  an  electric  tele- 
graph, which  is  made  to  transmit  information 
between  the  officers  and  attendants  on  the  exhibi 
tion,  from  all  sections  of  this  beautiful  palace. 

The  receipts  of  the  exhibition  are  estimated  at 
about  £400,000.  Of  this  immense  sum,  one-half, 
it  is  calculated,  will  defray  all  the  charges  con- 
nected with  the  building. 

The  whole  building  originally  cost  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  pounds — the  committee  paying 
seventy-nine  thousand  eight  hundred  pounds  for 
its  use.  If  for  nothing  else,  this  immense  pile  of 
transparancy  is  astounding  for  its  cheapness. 

It  is  also  remarkable  for  the  short  space  of  time 
occupied  in  its  erection, — only  about  four  months. 
The  successful  experiment  of  the  use  of  iron 
and  glass  in  its  construction,  forms  a  new  era  in 
the  history  of  architecture. 

Already  glass  and  iron  are  beginning  to  usurp 
the  place  of  wood  and  brick.  Massive  glass  doors 
are  now  to  be  seen  in  many  of  the  splendid  man 


38  MEMORIES,    ETC- 

sions  of  the  nobility ;  and  edifices  of  iron  are  be- 
coming common.  The  eifect  of  entering  the  great 
crystal  temple  is  inexpressibly  grand.  The  eye  is 
dazzled  and  bewildered  with  its  blaze  of  beauty. 
On  every  side  there  is  a  ceaseless  succession  of  the 
works  of  art,  of  such  a  grace  and  splendor,  that  one 
is  held  spell-bound  by  the  sight,  with  a  strange  fas- 
cination. The  richly  variegated  tints  which  these 
objects  reflect  upon  the  glazed  roof,  tend  still 
further  to  heighten  the  fairy-like  effect  of  the  scene. 
I^ever,  in  the  history  of  nations,  since  the  building 
of  Babel — and  if  that  were  a  memorial  of  confu- 
sion, this  was  certainly  one  of  harmony — has 
there  been  such  a  great  gathering  of  people,  from 
all  quarters  of  the  globe,  as  were  convened  for  the 
celebration  of  this  wondrous  world-festival. 

The  history  of  the  arts  of  life,  and  the  progress 
of  mankind  are  traceable  there ;  from  the  lonely 
cave,  still  inhabited  by  the  African  bushman,  to 
the  crowded  city,  where  these  multitudinous  ob- 
jects are  collected — from  the  stern  and  shapeless 
trunk  of  a  tree,  to  the  symmetrical  winged  ship — 
from  the  first  detection  of  steam,  to  its  subsequent 
application  and  development.  The  records  of  all 
time  have  been  consulted,  and  the  secrets  of  every 
region  searched  out,  to  enrich  this  peaceful  gather- 
ing together  of  the  fruits  of  human  perseverence. 


GREAT   METEOPOLIS.  41 

This  brilliant  display  of  science  and  art — this 
glorious  triumph  of  industry  and  commerce,  will 
illustrate  the  tendency  of  our  times  to  unity  of 
feeling  and  concert  of  action  throughout  the  world. 

Considering  the  vastnesss — bordering  on  the 
infinite — of  this  unparalleled  collection,  its  variety 
almost  inexhaustible,  it  can  never  be  appreciated 
as  it  deserves.  The  pen  and  pencil  have  been 
brought  into  such  frequent  requisition  for  portray- 
ing this  glorious  Temple  of  Industry  in  all  its  va- 
rious phases,  that  it  seems  needless  to  indulge  in 
any  further  allusion  to  the  subject :  yet  we  cannot 
refrain  from  citing  the  following  graphic  sketch,  in 
form  of  a  reverie,  by  a  recent  writer  in  the  London 
Illustrated  News : 

'  For  many  hours  I  had  wandered  through  its 
gorgeous  mazes,  till  my  mind  felt  nearly  as  bewil- 
dered, under  the  excitement  of  scenes  so  novel  and 
splendid,  as  my  limbs  were  weary.  It  was  with  a 
feeling  of  inexpressible  satisfaction,  that  I  at  length 
dropped  into  a  seat  within  sight  of  those  green, 
ancient  elms,  so  still  above  the  moving  throng, 
while  at  the  same  time  my  eyes  fell  upon  the  sweet 
refreshing  waters  flowing  from  the  crystal  fountain, 
and  on  the  delicate  flowering  shrubs  disposed  with 
so  much  taste  amidst  the  splendid  ornaments  and 
statues  of  this  glorious  Palace  ;  the  swelling  tones 


42  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

of  the  magnificent  organs,  added  to  the  fascinating 
influences  of  the  place,  rose  and  fell  on  my  senses 
like  the  songs  of  distant  angels.  I  thought  upon 
all  the  wondrous  works  of  art  which!  had  beheld 
throughout  that  long  day,  and  felt  that  man  had 
indeed  richly  availed  himself  of  the  bountiful  gifts 
of  the  great  Creator — of  that  "  rough  produce,"  of 
those  "  raw  materials,"  without  which  none  of  these 
splendid  works  of  man's  art  could  have  sprung  into 
existence.  I  looked  on  the  crystal  fountain — that 
amazing  specimen  of  human  skill  and  ingenuity. 
"What  a  wonderful  combination  !  sand — flint — al- 
kali !  Can  these  substances  indeed  have  produced 
that  fairy  structure,  as  well  as  this  light  airy 
dome  over  my  head?  Then  my  eyes  glanced  on 
the  pure,  cool,  flowing  waters — what  would  that 
fountain  be,  after  all,  without  its  bright  streams  ? ' 
When  the  visitor  has  surveyed  for  a  hundred 
times  the  magic  beauties  of  the  transept,  the  glo- 
rious garniture  of  the  nave,  the  magnificent  display 
of  taste  and  skill  in  the  foreign  sections,  and  all 
the  other  more  attractive  features  of  this  sixty  days' 
promenade,  he  may  at  last  refresh  his  exhausted  cu- 
riosity with  a  visit  to  the  more  homely,  but  not  less 
meritorious,  contents  of  the  south-west  aisle.  He 
will  there  see  some  acres  literally  under  the  plough 
and  the  harrow.     "Whatever  ingenuity  has  invented 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  43 

to  turn  up  stiff  clay  with  the  least  cost  of  labor,  to 
break  the  stubborn  glebe,  to  pulverize  the  baked 
clods,  to  deposit  the  seed,  to  extract  it  uninjured 
from  the  ear,  to  convert  it  into  flour,  or  to  assist 
man  in  any  other  of  the  thousand  and  one  processes 
of  husbandry,  is  there  spread  out  for  the  inspection 
of  the  agriculturist. 

The  visit  to  this  gorgeous  display  of  the  triumphs 
of  modern  art  will  be  a  vision  over  which  memory 
will  delight  to  linger  for  many  coming  years ;  and 
if  the  present  year  is  not  signalized  by  any  other 
important  event  in  the  world's  history,  this  congress 
of  the  industry  of  all  nations  will  confer  upon  it 
an  imperishable  lustre.  It  is  impossible  to  com- 
pute the  important  advantages  which  must  result 
from  this  magnificent  enterprise.  That  it  must 
exert  a  most  potent  and  beneficial  influence  in  sti- 
mulating to  emulation,  the  artist,  the  mechanic, 
and  the  artizan,  is  a  matter  beyond  doubt ;  while 
it  will  tend  to  combine  in  friendly  alliance  the  col- 
lective genius  and  skill  of  the  civilized  globe.  It 
affords  the  greatest  demonstration  of  the  rapid  pro- 
gress of  civilization,  in  its  tendency  to  remove  the 
jealousies  and  false  estimates  which  obtain  among 
men,  and  in  inspiring  them  with  a  more  liberal 
charity  and  fraternal  spirit.  The  servile  restric- 
tions which  are  imposed  between  the  patrician  and 


44  MEMORIES   OF  THE 

the  plebeian,  have  thus  become  ameliorated — ^the 
pride  of  the  peer  yields  to  the  power  of  genius, 
though  in  rags;  and  under  the  same  roof,  the 
monarch  has  mingled  with  the  mechanic,  in  doing 
homage  to  its  wonderful  creations.  Thus  labor  is 
dignified,  the  race  elevated,  and  an  enlightened 
philanthropy  universally  diffused.  Such  an  exhibi- 
tion of  the  products  of  skill,  also  essentially  aids  in 
educating  the  popular  taste. 

"  By  the  favor  of  Heaven,"  says  the  London 
Times^  "  we  shall  continue  to  improve,  and,  as  we 
improve,  to  throw  down  the  clumsy  barriers  within 
which  barbarism  has  for  so  long  intrenched  itself 
and  divided  the  nations  of  the  earth.  As  all  na- 
tions and  all  languages,  the  produce  of  all  soils, 
and  the  works  of  all  hands  meet  in  that  edifice,  so 
we  trust  they  may  meet  and  pass  to  and  fro  without 
let  or  hindrance  over  the  whole  surface  of  the  globe." 

But  we  must  bid  adieu  to  the  world  of  wonders 
enclosed  within  the  vast  area  of  the  Crystal  Pal- 
ace, and  resume  our  peregrinations  down  Picca- 
dilly. The  first  notable  building  we  meet  with,  as 
we  leave  the  Park,  is  Apsley  House,  the  mansion 
of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  ;  it  is  situated  in  Picca- 
dilly, at  the  south-east  corner  of  Hyde  Park,  and 
connected  with  it  by  a  triumphal  arch  of  the 
Corinthian  order.     This   edifice  is  worthy,  in  all 


GREAT   METROPOLIS. 


respects,    of   its    illustrious  occupant,- 
whom  the  nation  delighteth  to  honor." 


45 

-"  the  man 


^w«s* 


APSLEY     HOUSE. 


Many  works  of  art  of  high  importance  decorate 
this  mansion  in  the  various  apartments,  the  prin- 
cipal of  which  is  a  magnificent  saloon,  occupying 
the  entire  western  side.  On  the  walls  are  hung 
many  of  the  finest  pictures ;  it  is  in  this  room  the 
grand  annual  banquet  is  given  by  his  Grace,  on  the 
anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  to  the  prin- 
cipal officers  of  the  army  serving  on  the  occasion. 

In  the  inner  hall  stands  the  colossal  statue  of 
Napoleon,  by  Canova.  The  figure  is  nude,  holding 
a  winged  Yictory  in  the  right  hand.  On  the  en- 
trance of  the  allied  armies  into  Paris,  after  the 


46  MEMORIES    OF   THE 

battle  of  Waterloo,  it  became  a  trophy  of  war,  and 
was  presented  by  the  congregated  sovereigns  of 
Europe  to  the  illustrious  hero  in  whose  mansion 
it  is  now  placed. 

There  is  also  a  bronze  copy  of  the  monument, 
by  Ranch,  dedicated  to  the  veteran  Bliicher. 

The  collection  of  pictures  is  not  extensive,  but 
exceedingly  choice  ;  several  of  them  were  present- 
ed to  the  duke  by  the  king  of  Spain,  after  their 
recovery  from  the  baggage  of  Joseph  Bonaparte, 
captured  at  Yittoria.  The  greatest  gem  is  consi- 
dered to  be  Christ's  Agony  in  the  Garden,  by  Cor- 
reggio.  It  is  a  small  picture  which  has  always 
borne  the  highest  reputation,  and  was  for  a  long 
time  in  the  Royal  Palace  of  Madrid. 

"  The  Iron  Duke,"  as  he  is  familiarly  called, 
seems  to  belong  to  two  ages — his  name  fills  the 
story  of  the  Peninsular  war,  and  the  battle  of  Wa- 
terloo, and  he  is  still  the  political  ccmfidant  of  his 
Sovereign.  He  has,  indeed,  long  enjoyed  a  living 
apotheosis  of  fame,  and,  although  verging  towards 
ninety  years  of  age,  still  retains  the  possession 
of  his  mental  and  physical  powers.  It  is  said  that 
some  years  ago,  an  American  lady  in  conversation 
with  a  friend,  remarked  as  she  was  passing  near 
Apsley  House,  that  she  had  seen  all  the  wonders 
of  England,  except  one — the  Duke  of  Wellington. 


GEEAT   METROPOLIS.  .  47 

His  Grace,  who  was  passing  at  the  moment,  at- 
tended by  his  groom,  accidentally  overhearing  the 
remark,  turned  towards  the  lady,  and  lifting  his 
hat,  said,  "  Madam,  permit  me  to  gratify  your 
wish,  by  presenting  the  Duke  before  you." 

Facing  Apsley  House  stands  the  Koyal  en- 
trance to  Buckingham  Palace.  This  triumphal 
archway  is  of  marble,  and  surmounted  by  the 
colossal  statue  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  which 
is  undoubtedly  the  largest  equestrian  statue  in 
the  world. 

The  house  two  doors  east  of  the  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington's was  long  the  London  residence  of  Beck- 
ford,  the  author  of  "  Yathek." 

Passing  down  Piccadilly,  may  be  seen  many 
splendid  houses  of  the  nobility:  the  first  we 
would  mention,  is  that  of  the  Earl  of  Elgin.  Here 
were  first  exhibited  the  celebrated  collection  of 
marbles,  now  deposited  in  the  British  Museum, 
and  which  will  ever  bear  his  name.  They  were 
purchased  by  the  British  government  in  1816,  at 
the  cost  of  £35,000, — a  sufiicient  proof  of  the  cupi- 
dity of  one  party  and  the  prodigality  of  the  other. 
The  aristocratic  thoroughfare,  now  known  as  Park- 
lane,  was  formerly  called  Tyburn-lane,  notorious 
as  being  the  highway  to  the  place  of  public  execu- 
tions. Curzon-street,  where  the  chapel  now  stands, 
2* 


48  MEMOKIES    OF   THE 

was,  about  tlie  middle  of  the  last  century,  the  spot 
where  May  Fair  was  kept. 

The  celebrated  Bath  House,  which  fronted  on 
Piccadilly  and  which  was  standing  until  the  year 
1821,  contained  upwards  of  fifty  rooms,  besides 
numerous  servants'  offices,  etc.  The  ceiling  of  the 
library  was  richly  carved  with  foliage  and  splendidly 
gilt,  and  the  other  apartments  of  this  noble  man- 
sion were  of  corresponding  splendor.  Sir  William 
Pulteney  was  its  sole  occupant  for  years,  and  after- 
wards it  was  possessed  by  the  Duke  of  Portland. 
In  1711,  it  was  referred  to  in  the  "Spectator"  as 
a  country  seat.  Upon  its  site  Lord  Ashburton, 
formerly  Mr.  Baring,  has  erected  a  more  modern 
structure.  The  Duke  of  Devonshire's  town  resi- 
dence is  not  far  distant.  At  this  splendid  stone 
mansion  are  given  those  magnificent  balls  smd  fetes 
which  excite  the  admiration  of  one  half  the  fashion- 
able world,  and  the  envy  of  the  other.  The  Duke, 
by  the  tenure  of  his  title,  is  unmarried,  and  is  re- 
garded as  the  leader  of  the  fashions.  The  residence 
of  Lord  Brougham  stands  adjacent.  It  is  a  large 
house  on  the  west  side  of  the  Duke's. 

The  character  of  Brougham  has  been  admir- 
ably epitomized  by  Punch,  in  the  following  lines  : 

The  Stiitesman, — who,  in  a  less  happy  hour 

Than  this,  maintained  man's  right  to  read  and  know, 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  49 

And  gave  the  keys  of  knowledge  and  of  powei* 

With  equal  hand  alike  to  high  and  low. 
The  Lawyer, — who,  unwarped  by  private  aims. 

Denounced  the  Law's  abuse,  chicane,  delay  5 
The  Chancellor, — who  settled  centuries'  claims, 

And  swept  an  age's  dense  arrears  away  ; 
The  man  whose  name  men  read  e'en  as  they  run 

On  every  landmark  the  world's  course  along, 
That  speaks  to  us  of  a  great  battle  won 

Over  untruth,  or  prejudice,  or  wrong. 

From  'No.  80,  Sir  Francis  Bwrdett  was  taken  to 
the  Tower,  April  6th,  1810  ;  the  officer,  armed  with 
an  arrest-warrant,  scaling  the  house  with  a  ladder, 
entering  the  window  of  the  drawing-room,  where 
Sir  Francis  was  foimd  instructing  his  son  in  'Magna 
Cliarta^  the  street  being  occupied  by  the  Horse 
Guards.  ISTo.  105,  now  Hertford  House,  was  the 
old  Pulteney  Hotel ;  here  the  Emperor  of  Russia 
put  up  during  the  memorable  visit  of  the  allied 
sovereigns  in  1814 :  and  here  the  Duchess  of  01- 
denburgh  (the  Emperor  Alexander's  sister)  intro- 
duced Prince  Leopold  to  the  Princess  Charlotte. 
In  the  large  brick  house  No.  1,  Stratton-street,  Mrs. 
Coutts,  afterwards  Duchess  of  St.  Albans,  died. 
Lord  Eldon's  house,  at  the  corner  of  Hamilton-place, 
was  built  by  his  grandfather.  Lord  Chancellor  El  don, 
who  died  in  it.  On  the  south  end  of  Albemarle 
street,  once  stood  the  princely  edifice.  Clarendon 
House,  the  residence  of  the  Chancellor.    It  cost  ori- 


60  MEMOEIES    OF    THE 

ginally  £50,000,  it  has  since  been  pulled  down. 
No.  50  Albermarle  street,  is  the  celebrated  esta- 
blishment of  John  Murray,  publisher  to  the  Admiral- 
ty. Murray,  the  well  known  publisher  of  Byron's 
works,  used  to  be  familiarly  styled,  the  '  Prince  of 
Publishers ;'  his  drawing  room  has  been  honored 
by  the  presence  of  most  of  the  great  lights  of  mo- 
dern literature, — Scott,  Jeffreys,  Millman,  Byron, 
Washington  Irving,  Lockhart,  Prof.  "Wilson,  Moore, 
etc.  Murray  was  the  only  member  of  his  craft, 
admitted  to  the  tables  of  the  aristocracy,  and,  if 
report  be  true,  he  fully  appreciated  the  privilege. 
To  the  honor  of  Burlington  House  and  the  -noble 
Earl,  it  will  be  recollected  PojDe,  Gray,  and  Han- 
del were  among  its  resident  visitors.  Queensberry 
House,  in  Burlington  Gardens,  was  where  the 
amiable  poet  Gray  breathed  his  last  in  1T52.  His 
body  lay  in  state,  and,  at  eight  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  was  buried  in  Poets'  Corner,  Westminster 
Abbey,  attended  by  Pope  and  several  distinguish- 
ed noblemen.  Near  the  west  side  of  Burlington 
House,  is  Burlington  Arcade.  It  is  a  covered 
avenue  with  glass  roof,  and  with  shops  on  either 
side  tastefully  decorated.  On  the  eastern  side  of 
Burlington  House,  is  a  snug  retreat  denominated 
The  Albany.  It  consists  of  a  range  of  houses  di- 
vided off  into  chambers,  and  principally  occupied 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  51 

by  "gay  young  baclielors,"  members  of  Parlia- 
ment, artists,  and  antbors.  Sir  Edward  Bulwer 
Lytton  occupied  chambers  tbere.  Monk  Lewis, 
George  Canning,  and  Lord  Byron  resided  here  ;  the 
bouse  of  the  last  named  was  No.  139.  On  the  op- 
posite side  of  Piccadilly  stands  tbe  Egyptian 
Hall.  It  is  here  Catlin's  Indian  Gallery  bas  been 
exhibited.  St.  James's  Church  watches  over  the 
remains  of — ^Dodsey,  the  bookseller ;  Gillray,  the 
caricaturist ;  Cotton,  the  associate  of  Izaak  Walton  ; 
Dr.  Arbuthnot,  the  friend  of  Pope ;  Mark  Aken- 
side,  the  poet ;  and  Sir  John  Malcolm. 

The  reader  may  be  curious  to  know  the  ori- 
gin of  the  name — Piccadilly.  The  earliest  authori- 
ty on  this  subject  bears  date  1566,  from  which  we 
learn  the  term  "  Pickadill  "  signified  the  hem  of  a 
garment,  and  it  is  supposed  its  application  to  this 
street  was  in  consequence  of  its  remoteness  from 
the  town.  Mr.  Jesse  is  of  the  opinion,  however, 
that  this  article  of  dress  was  not  introduced  until 
nearly  twenty  years  after  Piccadilly  had  become  a 
familiar  name.  He  inclines  to  the  supposition  that 
the  name  took  its  rise  from  the  Spanish  ^ordi  jpecoa- 
dillo — a  venial  fault ;  and  that  the  name  was 
first  given  to  a  house  of  amusement  located  here, 
which  was  the  favorite  resort  of  the  votaries  of 
fashion  and  folly  of  those  days. 


62 


MEMORIES,    ETC. 


CHAPTER     III. 

St.  Jamea's-street— Crockford's,  the  Travellers',  and  other  Club  Houses— Tlie 
Clubs  of  Johnson's  days — Drawing  Room  day  at  St.  James's— Bridge- 
water  House— Statford  House— Rogers's  House— Johnson  and  Savage- 
Pall  Mall— Charles  II.— Dodsley— St.  James's  Palace— Buckingham  Pa- 
lace—Royal Procession  to  Parliament—  St.  James's  Park  —  Milton's 
House — Peace  Celebration— the  Horse  Guards,  etc. 


EKE  we  approach  Saint 
James's-street,  whicli  is 
celebrated  all  over  Eu- 
rope for  its  splendid 
clnb-houses,  and  the 
old  Palace  that  bears 
its  name.  These  clubs, 
numbering  above  thir- 
ty-five, include  some  of 
the  most  splendid  edi- 
fices of  the  metropolis.  The  Travellers'  Club 
is  the  best  known  to  Americans;  members  of 
our  diplomatic  corps  being  not  unfrequently 
guests  at  its  tables.  The  names  of  the  most  ce- 
lebrated are  as  follows :  the  Travellers',  White's, 
Brookes's,  the  Thatched  House,  the  Conserva- 
tive Club,  the  Oxford  and   Cambridge,  the  Carl- 


^TrabcUcr's  Cluft  ?Llous£. 


GREAT    METKOPOLIS.  65 

ton,  the  United  Service,  the  Keforni  Club,  the 
Athenaeum,  Arthur's,  and  the  Army  and  JSTavy 
Club.  St.  James's  CoiFee-House,  St.  James's-street, 
which  was  a  Whig  coffee-house  of  the  time  of 
Queen  Anne,  was  frequented  by  Addison  and 
Steele,  and  occasionally  attended  by  Goldsmith 
and  Garrick.  Here  originated  Goldsmith's  "Re- 
taliation." 

White's,  a  Tory  club-house,  opposite  Crock- 
ford's,  was  originally  White's  Chocolate-House, 
under  which  name  it  was  established.  As  a  Club 
it  dates  from  1736.  It  was  then  made  a  private 
house,  for  the  convenience  of  the  chief  frequenters 
of  the  place,  whose  annual  subscriptions  towards 
its  support  were  paid  to  the  proprietor,  by  whom 
the  Club  was  formed.  The  arms  of  the  Club  were 
designed  by  Horace  Walpole  and  George  Selwyn. 

The  most  noted  of  these  clubs  was  Crock- 
ford's,  the  notorious  gambling-house  of  the  great 
Metropolis.  This  magnificent  structure  was  long 
the  wonder  and  boast  of  London.  Crockford's 
has  been  not  inaptly  styled  Pandsemonium. 
Its  interior  decorations  are  splendid  in  the  ex- 
treme. On  entering  from  the  street,  a  magnificent 
vestibule  and  staircase  break  upon  the  view.  To  the 
right  and  left  of  the  hall  are  the  reading  and  din- 
ing rooms.     The  staircases  are    of   sinuous  form, 


56  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

sustained  by  four  columns  of  the  Doric  order ; 
above  which  are  series  of  examples  in  the  Ionic 
order,  forming  a  quadrangle,  with  apertures  to  the 
chief  apartments.  Above  the  pillars  is  a  covered 
ceiling,  perforated  with  numerous  panels  of  stained 
glass,  from  which  springs  a  dome  of  surpassing 
beauty ;  from  the  dome  depends  a  lantern  contain- 
ing a  magnificent  chandelier. 

Its  state  drawing-room  was  decorated  in  the 
gaudy  style  of  the  school  of  Louis  Quatorze, 
its  panels  being  richly  ornamented  by  mirrors ; 
sumptuous  chandeliers  were  suspended  from  a 
richly  groined  and  gilded  ceiling,  and,  taken 
as  a  whole,  such  was  its  consummate  splendor,  that 
it  was  long  considered  altogether  unrivalled. 
There  were  other  chambers  scarcely  inferior  in 
beauty:  yet  this  gorgeous  palace  was  desecrated 
to  the  worst  of  purposes — that  of  gambling.  We 
remember  an  instance  of  princely  fortune  having 
been  squandered  away  in  a  single  night — that 
of  Lord  Milton,  who  sacrificed  at  the  dice-table 
£30,000 !  This  notorious  establishment  possessed 
a  private  bank,  and  more  diabolical  wicked- 
ness was  perpetrated  within  its  walls  than  has 
ever  been  revealed,  and  yet  enough  has  been  ex- 
posed to  render  it  an  object  of  universal  detesta- 
tion. 


m^ 


GEEAT    METROPOLIS.  67 

On  Crockford's  death  in  1844:,  the  Club  was 
closed,  and  it  ceased  to  be  occupied  until  May, 
1849,  when  it  was  taken  possession  of  by  the  Mili- 
tary and  ]Si  aval  County  Service  Club.  The  follow- 
ing impromptu  was  perpetrated  by  Sydney  Smith, 
at  a  party  at  Holland  House,  upon  a  lady's  re- 
marking, that  the  money  which  men  lost  at  their 
clubs  in  gambling,  would  dress  the  ladies  : 

"  Thoughtless  that '  all  that's  brightest  fades,' 
Forgetting  quite  that  knave  of  spades — 

The  sexton,  and  his  subs, — 
How  foolishly  we  play  our  parts, 
Women  on  diamonds  set  their  hearts, 

Men  set  their  hearts  on  clubs." 

A  new  phase  of  English  society  has  been  pre- 
sented by  the  establishment  of  these  numerous 
Clubs ;  they  differ  essentially  in  their  constitution 
from  those  of  the  age  of  Johnson.  Some  of  the 
most  influential  and  opulent  of  the  British  Peerage 
are  attached  to  these  institutions.  As  to  architec- 
tural elegance,  they  exhibit  some  of  the  best  spe- 
cimens extant. 

These  establishments,  which  have  of  late  years 
assumed  a  splendor  unknown  to  the  ideas  of  their 
originators,  are  the  resorts  of  political,  fashionable, 
and  literary  characters,  for  the  purpose  of  conver- 
sation, reading,  or  refreshment.  Persons  desirous 
of  admission  must  be  proposed  by  members,  and 


68  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

balloted  for.  The  subscriptions  vary,  according  to 
the  character  of  the  club,  from  twenty  to  twenty- 
five  guineas  entrance,  and  from  ^ve  to  six  guineas 
per  annum. 

Until  about  thirty  years  ago  a  Club  was  seldom 
more  than  a  mere  knot  of  acquaintances  who  met 
together  of  an  evening,  at  stated  times,  in  a  room 
engaged  for  that  purpose  at  some  tavern,  and  some 
of  them  held  their  meetings  at  considerable  inter- 
vals apart.  Most  of  them  were  anything  but 
fashionable — some  of  them  upon  a  footing  not  at  all 
higher  than  that  of  a  club  of  mechanics.  Among 
the  regulations  of  the  Essex-street  Club,  for  instance, 
(instituted  by  Dr.  Johnson  shortly  before  his  death, 
and  limited  to  twenty-four  members,)  one  was, 
that  each  person  should  spend  not  less  than 
sixpence  /  another,  that  each  absentee  should  for- 
feit t/ireepence,  and  each  of  the  company  was  to 
contribute  a  p  enny  as  a  douceur  for  the  waiter ! 
At  that  period  the  chief  object  of  such  associations 
was  relaxation  after  the  business  of  the  day,  and  the 
enjoyment  of  a  social  evening  in  a  homely  way, 
in  what  would  now  be  called  a  snug  party.  The 
celebrated  "  Literary  Club,"  which  was  founded 
by  Reynolds  in  1763,  and  whose  meetings  were 
held  once  a  week  at  the  Turk's  Head,  in  Gerard- 
street,  Soho,    now  a  very   unfashionable  locality, 


Ei)c  ama  anb  Naiog  Cltii  %\ousc. 


GREAT    METROPOLIS.  61 

consisted  at  first  of  only  nine  members,  which 
number  was,  however,  gradually  increased  to  the 
large  number  of  thirty-five  /  yet,  limited  as  it  was, 
it  would  not  be  easy  even  now  to  bring  together  as 
large  a  number  of  equally  distinguished  characters. 
That  club  dined  together  once  a  fortnight,  on  which 
occasions  "  the  feast  of  reason  and  the  flow  of 
soul  "  were,  no  doubt,  enjoyed  in  perfection.  In 
most  clubs  of  that  period,  on  the  contrary,  the 
flow  of  wine,  or  other  liquor,  was  far  more  abun- 
dant than  that  of  mind,  and  the  conversation  was 
generally  more  easy  and  hilarious  than  intellectual 
or  refined. 

The  Army  and  N"avy  Club,  corner  of  George- 
street,  St.  James's  Square,  was  built  1847-50,  from 
the  designs  of  Parnell  and  Smith.  The  building 
cost  in  all  £35,000,  exclusive  of  fittings.  The  com- 
paratively small  plot  of  land  on  which  it  stands 
has  cost  the  Club  £52,500,  and  the  total  expendi- 
ture may  be  called  in  round  numbers  £100,000. 
The  largest  apartment  is  the  "  Morning  Room  ;" 
and  the  "  Library  "  is  larger  than  the  "  Drawing 
Room."  The  enrichments  of  the  ceilings  through- 
out are  in  cartonpierre  and  papier-mache.  The 
principal  furaiture  is  of  walnut-wood.  The  Kitch- 
en is  one  of  the  successful  novelties  of  the  build- 
ing, and  will  repay  a  visit. 


MEMORIES   OF   THE 


Most  part  of  the  club-houses  are  in  Pall  Mall 
and  St.  James's-street.  The  building  erected  for 
the  Reform  Club,  by  Mr.  Barry,  is  one  of  the 
finest  structures  belonging  to  this  class  of  edifices, 
and  is  fitted  up  with  equal  taste  and  magnificence. 

It  was  built  in  the  year  1839  :  the  club  consists 
of  1400  members  ;  the  annual  subscription  being 
ten  guineas,  and  the  entrance  fee  twenty  guineas. 
This  club  was  founded  by  the  liberal  members  of 
the  two  Houses  of  Parliament,  about  the  time  of 
the  passing  of  the  Reform  Bill,  1830-32.  The  in- 
terior of  the  edifice,  especially  the  large  hall  co- 
vered with  glass,  in  the  centre  of  the  building,  is 
very  imposing. 

The  Carlton,  the  Conservative,  the  Athenseum, 
and  the  United  Service  Clubs,  are  splendid  speci- 
mens of  architecture. 

On  State  occasions,  when  the  Queen  holds  a 
"  Drawing  Room  "  at  St.  James's  Palace,  this  sti-eet 
is  full  of  gaiety  and  splendor.  From  two  o'clock 
till  seven,  the  carriages  of  the  nobility  passing 
to  and  from  the  palace,  completely  blockade  this 
thoroughfare  and  the  adjacent  streets.  It  is  a 
splendid  sight  to  witness  the  gaudy  liveries  with- 
out, and  the  magnificent  tiaras  of  diamonds  glitter- 
ing within,  these  superb  equipages  as  they  pass  in 
procession. 


33^•i^IScil3atcr  |t|ousc. 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  65 

St.  James's  Park  was  originally  formed  by- 
Henry  YIII.,  wlio  caused  to  be  drained  and  en- 
closed what  at  that  time  was  little  better  than  a 
marsh.  It  was  afterwards  much  improved  by 
Charles  II.,  who  employed  Le  Notre  to  plant  the 
avenues  and  form  a  canal,  as  also  an  aviary  ad- 
joining, from  which  the  Bird-cage  Walk  took  its 
name.  This  park  is  covered  with  beautiful  flower- 
beds, lofty  elms  and  dwarf  shrubs,  and  green 
sward  divided  by  gravelled  walks  ;  while  the  lake, 
with  its  fountain  and  artificial  islands  (the  latter 
designed  for  the  accommodation  of  the  numerous 
water-fowl)  render  this  deservedly  one  of  the  most 
popular  promenades  in  the  Metropolis. 

On  the  parade,  in  front  of  the  Horse  Guards, 
are  placed  a  Turkish  piece  of  ordnance  captured 
at  Alexandria  by  the  British  army,  a  piece  of  ord- 
nance captured  at  Waterloo,  and  one  of  the  mor- 
tars used  by  the  French  army  to  throw  shells  into 
Cadiz ;  its  range  being  said  to  be  three  miles,  and 
its  weight  sixteen  tons. 

One  of  the  regiments  of  the  Foot  Guards  daily 
parades  in  this  park,  between  ten  and  eleven  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  attended  by  the  band. 

Bridge  water  House,  in  St.  James's  Park,  the 
town  residence  of  the  Earl  of  Ellesmere,  is  en- 
riched with  a  rare   collection   of  pictures   by  the 


66  MEMORIES    OF   THE 

Caracci  and  other  great  painters,  and  is  justly 
celebrated.  The  Chandos  portrait  of  Shakspeare 
also  adorns  the  picture-gallery.  This  collection 
is  valued  at  over  £150,000,  and  by  strenuous  ex- 
ertions was  completed  in  time  to  be  opened 
gratuitously  to  the  public  simultaneously  with  the 
Great  Exhibition.  It  is  situated  at  the  foot  of  the 
Green  Park,  and  commands  a  beautiful  view,  on 
the  north,  of  Piccadilly ;  on  the  south,  of  St. 
James's  Park,  on  the  east,  of  Pall  Mall ;  and  the 
Clubs ;  and  on  the  west,  of  Buckingham  Palace 
and  the  Green  Park,  with  the  celebrated  Welling- 
ton statue  and  Hyde  Park  Corner  in  the  distance. 
It  is  perhaps  the  handsomest  private  building  in 
London. 

StaiFord  House,  the  residence  of  the  Duke 
of  Sutherland,  is  also  a  most  superb  structure ; 
it  cost  £200,000  in  erection.  Its  gallery  is 
among  the  largest  and  most  valuable  of  London. 
A  grand  staircase  occupies  a  large  part  of  the 
central  mass  of  the  building,  and  rises  to  the 
top,  receiving  light  from  a  range  of  lantern  win- 
dows, divided  by  colossal  caryatides,  which  sup- 
port the  ceiling.  Whatever  wealth  could  obtain  of 
skill  and  art  to  achieve  the  most  magnificent  coup- 
d^ceil  in  the  metropolis,  has  been  here  lavished 
with  consummate  skill.  The  complete  surface  of  the 


Staffortj    5}£)U3c. 


GREAT    METROPOLIS.  69 

floor  and  staircase  is  covered  with  scarlet  cloth  ;  the 
balustrades  of  the  hand-railing  are  of  a  graceful, 
complicated  pattern,  richly  gilt.  On  the  first  land- 
ing is  placed  the  marble  statue  of  a  sibyl,  by  Ri- 
naldi.  From  this  landing  two  flights  of  steps 
diverge  upwards  to  a  gallery,  which  passes  round 
three  sides  of  the  hall,  and  is  decorated  with  marble 
columns  and  balustrades.  Copies,  by  Lorenzi,  of 
several  of  Paul  Yeronese's  colossal  pictures,  fill 
various  compartments.  From  the  base  to  the  ceiling 
of  this  grand  architectural  feature,  sculpture,  carv- 
ing, gilding,  and  every  ornament  that  could  aid  its 
magnificence,  have  been  employed  to  complete  it. 
In  St.  James's-street,  Buckingham  Gate,  lived 
Glover,  the  author  of  "  Leonidas,"  an  epic ;  also 
Pye,  the  poet-laureat,  at  'No.  2 ;  and  at  No.  6, 
Gifibrd,  editor  of  the  London  Quarterly  Eeview, 
and  author  of  the  "  Baviad  and  Mseviad."  He  died 
in  184:6.  Sir  Walter  Scott,  referring  to  Giiford,  in 
his  Diary,  says  : — "  He  was  a  little  man,  dumpled 
up  together,  and  so  ill-made  as  to  seem  almost  de- 
formed, but  with  a  singular  expression  of  talent  in 
his  countenance.  He  had  one  singular  custom — he 
always  used  to  have  a  duenna  of  a  housekeeper  to 
sit  in  his  study  with  him  while  he  wrote.  This 
female  companion  died  while  I  was  in  London, 
and  his  distress  was  extreme.    I  afterwards  heard 


70 


MEMORIES    OF    THE 


he  got  her  place  supplied, 
scandal  in  all  this." 


I  believe  there  was  no 

The  house  'No.  22 
was  built  on  the  site 
of  one  inhabited  by 
the  late  Duke  of  St. 
Alban's,  for  Samuel 
Eogers,  the  author 
of  "  The  Pleasures  of 
Memory,"  etc.  James 
Wyatt,  R.  A.,  was 
the  architect,  but 
much  of  its  elegance 
depended  on  its  wor- 
thy owner.  Here  are 
treasured  some  of  the 
finest  works  of  ancient 
and  modern  art.  Flax- 
man  designed  the  cor- 
nice and  the  chim- 
ney-pieces ;  Stothard 
shines  in  vivid  splendor  in  the  decorations  of  a 
cabinet,  designed  by  Mr.  Rogers  as  a  recep- 
tacle for  his  choice  specimens  of  Italian  art, 
among  which  are  his  matchless  impressions  of  the 
Cartoons  at  Hampton  Court :  each  print  is  produc- 
ed by  blocks  of  seventeen  colors,  and  also  with  one 


GREAT     MliTKOPOLIS.  71 

block  charged  with  silver,  and  another  with  gold. 
"  If  you  enter  his  [Rogers's]  house — his  drawing- 
room,  his  library, — you  of  yourself  say,  this  is  not 
the  dwelling  of  a  common  mind.  There  is  not  a 
gem,  a  coin,  a  book  thrown  aside  on  his  chimney- 
piece,  his  sofa,  his  table,  that  does  not  bespeak  an 
almost  fastidious  elegance  in  the  possessor." 
Among  his  pictures  are  nine  by  Sir  Joshua  Rey- 
nolds, three  of  the  more  noticeable  of  which  are. 
Little  Puck,  Cupid  and  Psyche,  the  Sleeping  Girl, 
etc.  Poetry  and  poverty  are  usually  convertible 
terms,  but  here  we  have  an  exception  to  the  rule, 
Rogers  being  at  once  a  patron  as  well  as  a 
votary  of  the  muse.  He  is  immensely  wealthy,  as 
a  proof  of  which  he  has  a  million  Bank  of  England 
note,  framed  and  glazed,  hanging  upon  his  walls. 
But  he  is  a  banker  as  well  as  a  poet. 

The  late  Sir  Francis  Burdett's  house  is  No.  25, 
which  is  celebrated  for  its  curiously  constructed 
library,  drawing-room,  staircase,  &c.  Earl  Spen- 
cer's next  claims  our  notice  ;  the  matchless  literary 
treasures  which  his  library  contains,  have  been 
made  the  subject  of  learned  and  most  pleasant 
record,  by  the  renowned  bibliopole,  Dr.  Dibdin. 
We  forgot  to  note  that  the  house  ISTo.  76,  St. 
James's-street  is  memorable  as  having  been  the 
place  where  Gibbon  breathed  his  last. 
3 


72  MEMORIES    OF   THE 

In  Jermyn-street,  St.  James's,  lived  the  great 
Duke  of  Marlborough,  in  1675-1681  ;  the  house 
was  situated  at  the  west  end,  south  side,  about 
^ve  doors  down.  Sir  Isaac  Newton  lived  in  this 
street ;  also  Gray,  the  poet.  At  St.  James's  Market 
close  by,  in  a  room  over  the  market-house,  preach- 
ed Richard  Baxter,  the  Nonconformist.  On  the 
occasion  of  his  first  sermon,  the  main  beam  of  the 
building  cracked  beneath  the  weight  of  the  con- 
gregation. In  Bury-street,  St.  James's,  lived  Dean 
Swift ;  Thomas  Moore  also  lodged  at  No.  33  in  this 
street,  in  1814 ;  and  Crabbe  at  No.  37.  The  St. 
*  James's  Hotel,  No.  76,  on  the  south  side,  was  the 
last  London  lodging  of  Sir  Walter  Scott.  Here  he 
lay  for  a  period  of  three  weeks  after  his  return  from 
the  Continent,  either  in  absolute  stupor  or  a  wak- 
ing dream.  The  apartment  he  occupied  was  the 
second  floor  back  room :  the  great  novelist  and 
poet  was  carried  from  the  hotel  to  his  carriage  on 
the  afternoon  of  the  7th  July,  1832.  Many  were 
eager  to  see  so  great  a  man,  but  all  mere  cu- 
riosity seemed  to  cease  when  they  saw  the  vacant 
eye  and  prostrate  figure  of  the  illustrious  poet. 
There  was  not  a  covered  head  ;  hardly  a  dry  eye 
on  the  occasion.* 

Turn  we  now  to  an  opposite  picture.  St.  James's 
*  Cunningham. 


GKEAT   METROPOLIS.  Y3 

Square,  near  by,  witnessed  a  scene  of  sad  destitu- 
tion and  suffering,  in  the  instance  of  Eichard  Sa- 
vage and  Samuel  Johnson,  ere  their  names  be- 
came eminent  in  English  life.  It  was  here  these 
neglected  sons  of  genius  were  accustomed  to  linger 
through  the  live-long  night,  without  shelter  and 
without  food.  Both  highly  gifted  with  mind,  but 
not  with  money,  the  former  fell  a  victim  to  his 
improvidence ;  the  latter  struggled  manfully  with 
his  difficulties,  mastered  them,  and  reared  for  him- 
self an  imperishable  fame.  AlmacJc's^  the  well- 
known  resort  of  the  beauty,  wealth,  and  fashion  of 
Great  Britain,  is  an  object  of  interest  to  the  heau' 
monde  j  it  is  situated  in  King-street.  It  is  wor- 
thy of  note  that  the  once  aristocratic  St.  James's- 
street  was  the  first  that  was  paved  for  foot-passen- 
gers in  London,  and  also  the  first  street  in  connec- 
tion with  Pall  Mall  that  was  lighted  with  gas  ; 
this  occurred  in  1809.  St.  James's  Square 
abounds  with  splendid  mansions  occupied  by  the 
higher  orders  of  the  British  peerage,  and  once 
by  members  of  the  royal  family.  It  was  here, 
at  Norfolk  House,  that  George  III.  was  born.  It 
was  at  Lord  EUenborough's  house  that  the  sale  of 
the  celebrated  Koxburgh  library  took  place  in 
1812.  Kobert  Bowyer,  the  distinguished  collector 
of  engravings  illustrative  of  the  history  of  England, 


74  MEMORIES    OF   THE 

lived  in  Pall  Mall,  some  dozen  doors  east  of  the 
Palace.  Pall  Mall  derives  its  name  from  Paille- 
Maille  /  the  term  given  to  an  athletic  game  with 
ball  and  mallet,  brought  over  from  France  in  the 
17th  century.  In  Pepys'  Diary,  1661,  is  the  fol- 
lowing :  "  To  St.  James's  Park,  where  I  saw  the 
Duke  of  York  playing  at  Pelle  Melle,  the  first 
time  that  ever  I  saw  the  sport."  It  was  while 
walking  in  the  Mall,  that  Charles  II.  one  day 
gave  Dryden  the  hint  for  writing  his  poem  called 
the  "  Medal."  "  If  I  was  a  poet,"  said  the  King, 
"  and  I  think  I  am  poor  enough  to  be  one,  I  would 
write  a  poem  on  such  a  subject,"  and  then  gave 
him  the  plan  for  it.  Dryden  took  the  hint,  carried 
the  poem,  as  soon  as  it  was  finished,  to  the 
King,  who  presented  him  with  a  hundred  '^  broad 
pieces  "  for  it.  In  1681,  Sir  William  Temple  resid- 
ed in  Pall  Mall,  also  the  Hon.  Kobert  Boyle.  The 
Duke  of  Schornberg's  house,  a  large  brick  man- 
sion, is  now  occupied  by  Payne  and  Foss,  the 
booksellers.  Schornberg  House  was  built  in  the 
reign  of  William  III.  The  house  was  subsequently 
bestowed  upon  I^ell  Gwynne,  by  Charles  II. ;  it 
was  from  the  back  wall  of  this  house,  that  she  once 
held  a  light  conversation  with  the  King,  which  so 
horrified  the  decorous  John  Evelyn.  From  this 
locality    also    emanated    that    magnificent    work, 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  Y5 

Boydell's  "  Illustrations  of  Shakspeare,"  and  other 
superb  works,  which  cost  nearly  £300,000.  The 
renowned  book-auctioneer,  Evans,  also  lived  in 
Pall  Mall,  near  the  building  formerly  used  for  the 
I^ational  Gallery.  Among  his  other  celebrated 
book-sales  was  that  of  the  vast  library  of  Richard 
Heber,  the  great  collector,  and  brother  to  the 
Bishop,  whose  prodigious  and  rather  chaotic  mass 
of  books  were  finally  distributed  for  sale  in  the 
several  cities  of  London,  Oxford,  Paris,  Ghent, 
and  at  his  residence  in  Hodnet,  in  Shropshire. 
The  sale  at  Evans's  lasted  a  hundred  days,  and  the 
catalogues  made  fifteen  volumes.  Dodsley,  the 
bookseller,  commenced  life  as  a  footman,  but  even 
in  that  servile  situation,  he  discovered  his  supe- 
rior abilities  in  several  prodilctions  of  his  pen, 
which  were  subsequently  published,  and  among 
which  w#s  his  well  known-satire,  "  The  Muse  in 
Livery,  or  the  Footman's  Miscellany."  It  was 
Dodsley  who  first  befriended  Johnson,  when  he 
was  utterly  unknown  and  uncared  for  ;  for  he  paid 
him  ten  guineas  for  his  first  production  (1738) ; 
and  about  twenty  years  afterwards,  he  commenced 
the  bold  enterprise,  under  the  auspicious  pen  of 
Burke,  of  his  series  of  the  Annual  Register.  The 
establishment  of  this  worthy  bibliopole  was  the 
favorite  resort  of  Young,  Akenside,  Walpole,  War- 


Y6  MEMOEIES    OF   THE 

ton,  Burke,  Pope,  and  other  learned  men  of  his 
times.  He  was  also  publisher  to  Pope,  Young, 
and  Akenside.  Dodsley  ultimately  acquired 
what  is  rare  with  his  craft,  a  splendid  fortune. 
The  artist  Gainsborough  lived  and  died  also  in 
this  same  street. 

St.  James's  Palace,  situated  in  Pall  Mall, 
directly  facing  St.  James's-street,  was  erected  on 
the  site  of  a  hospital  founded  some  time  before  the 
ITorman  Conquest.  It  was  subsequently  surren- 
dered to  Henry  Yni.,  who  built  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  Palace  as  it  now  stands.  In  this 
edifice  the  Sovereign  holds  the  Levees  and  Draw- 
ing Rooms.  The  first  are  attended  by  gentlemen 
only,  and  usually  take  place  on  appointed  Wednes- 
days during  what  is  termed  "the  season "  in  Lon- 
don. The  "  Drawing  Rooms "  are  destined  for 
the  Royal  reception  of  ladies  as  well  9,s  gentle- 
men, and  are  held  on  appointed  Thursdays.  Th^ 
suite  of  apartments  used  for  these  purposes  have 
windows  looking  into  St.  James's  Park,  and  are  of 
considerable  dimensions.  They  may  be  said  to  be 
handsomely  furnished,  but  fall  very  short  of  any 
regal  magnificence  worthy  of  the  mighty  kingdom 
of  Great  Britain.  There  were  formerly  some  fine 
pictures  by  the  great  masters,  and  decorative  fur- 
niture   but   they  have   been   removed  since  Her 


^t.  3ani£2'js  ^aUce. 


gii^:at  metropolis.  77 

Majesty's  accession,  and  they  now  contain  only 
some  good  portraits  with  inferior  ones  and  copies. 
.On  ascending  the  grand  staircase,  a  grand  cham- 
ber adorned  with  a  number  of  military  arms  in 
fanciful  devices,  is  on  the  left  hand. 

Passing  through  a  similar  one,  usually  decorat- 
ed with  arms,  the  first  room  of  the  state  apart- 
ments is  entered.  This  is  called  the  Tapestry 
Room,  as  the  walls  are  hung  with  that  material ; 
the  antique  fire-place  still  retains  the  initials  of 
Henry  YIIl.  and  Anne  Boleyn,  interlaced  with 
true-lovers'  knots.  The  Ball  Room  succeeds,  and 
is  the  first  grand  apartment  facing  the  park.  Two 
large  pictures  of  the  Siege  of  Tournay  and  the 
Siege  of  Lisle  by  the  Duke  of  Marlborough,  are 
hung  in  it ;  there  are  likewise  several  full  length 
portraits  of  Kings  and  Queens.  The  next  in  suc- 
cession of  the  suite  of  rooms  is  the  Drawing 
Room  ;  then  the  Throne  Room,  at  the  western  end 
of  "which  is  the  Royal  Chair  of  State,  placed  under 
a  canopy  emblazoned  with  the  Royal  Arms.  Im- 
mediately behind  the  Throne  Room,  is  a  smaller 
apartment  called  the  Council  Chamber.  The 
Chapel-Royal,  at  which  Her  Majesty  attends  when 
in  town,  has  a  choral  service ;  admission  to  it 
may  be  obtained  by  a  small  douceur  to  the  attend- 
ants. 


78  MEMORIES    OF   THE 

In  the  reign  of  Charles  the  First,  Mary  di 
Medici,  in  order  to  escape  the  intrigues  of  Kiche- 
lieu,  occupied  apartments  in  St.  James's  Palace, 
during  a  period  of  three  years,  although  she  was 
no  favorite  with  the  English  people,  who  finally 
petitioned  Parliament  for  her  removal  to  France. 
This  was  granted  ;  but  her  travelling  expenses  vot- 
ed to  her  by  Parliament  were  £10,000.  The  ill- 
fated  Charles  spent  the  last  three  days  of  his 
melancholy  life  here.  The  "  Pretender"  was  born 
at  this  Palace,  which  has  also  been  the  residence 
of  the  crowned  heads,  down  to  the  accession  of 
Queen  Victoria,  who  prefers  to  occupy  Bucking- 
ham Palace,  which  is  far  more  spacious  and  splen- 
did. Still,  however,  the  Drawing  Rooms  and 
Levees  of  the  Court  are  held  at  St.  James's. 

The  suite  of  state  apartments  consist  of 
ante-rooms,  presence-chamber,  drawing-rooms, 
Queen's  closet,  etc.  In  the  presence-chamber, 
the  Sovereign  receives  the  homage  of  her  sub- 
jects. In  this  room  is  the  throne,  surmounted 
with  a  crimson  canopy  of  velvet  beautifully 
embroidered  with  gold.  In  the  dining-hall  of 
St.  James's  Palace,  we  were  once  admitted  to 
view  the  preparations  for  a  royal  banquet.  The 
tables  were  covered  with  the  superb  service  of  mas- 
sive  gold   plate   of  George  lY.,  at  that   day  un- 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  79 

equalled  for  its  costly  magnificence.  Some  years 
afterwards  we  were  curious  to  witness  the  cere- 
monial of  the  remains  of  the  Duke  of  York  lying 
in  state.  The  apartments  were  hung  in  black 
festoons,  escutcheons  were  placed  around  the  walls ; 
numerous  candelabra  of  immense  proportions  were 
ranged  each  side  of  the  coffin,  which  occupied  the 
centre  of  the  great  hall.  A  splendid  pall  covered 
the  remains,  at  the  head  of  which  was  placed  the 
ducal  coronet.  So  intense  was  the  popular  anxiety 
to  witness  the  solemn  spectacle,  fhat  several  per- 
sons received  injuries  from  the  crowd,  and  one  or 
two  lost  their  lives,  in  the  attempt  to  gain  admis- 
sion. 

Passing  from  thence  into  St.  James's  Park,  we 
catch  a  glimpse  of  Buckingham  Palace,  the  royal 
metropolitan  residence.  The  principal  front  forms 
a  square,  enclosing  a  space  of  about  two  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  in  diameter.  There  are  twenty -three 
windows  in  each  of  the  two  upper  stories ;  the  en- 
tresol is  lighted  by  panels  over  the  windows  of 
the  ground  floor ;  and  the  top  story  by  openings  in 
the  freize  of  the  entablature.  The  whole  is  crown- 
ed by  a  balustrade,  the  dies  which  form  it  into 
panels  being  each  surmounted  by  an  urn.  The 
state  apartments,  staircases,  etc.,  are  on  the  grand- 
est scale :  the  floors  are  of  inlaid  wood,  dispersed 
3^ 


80  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

in  ciirious  devices,  and  the  door  frames  of  richly 
sculptured  marble ;  whilst  the  hangings,  furniture, 
and  ornaments  are  gorgeously  resplendent.  At- 
tached to  the  Palace  are  the  Royal  Gardens,  which 
occupy  about  40  acres,  and  are  beautifully  laid  out 
and  ornamented.  All  the  appointments  of  this 
magnificent  structure  seem  to  have  been  construct- 
ed with  the  most  prodigal  disregard  of  expense ; 
we  believe  its  entire  cost  amounted  to  between 
three  and  four  millions  sterling.  When  the  Queen 
occupies  the  Palace,  the  royal  standard  is  hoisted. 
It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  this  royal  resi- 
dence should  be  pitched  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
where  Ben  Jonson  and  some  of  his  contempora- 
ries were  accustomed  to  resort  and  indulge  "  pota- 
tions deep."  The  neighborhood  of  Pimlico,  on  the 
south  side,  is  still  one  of  very  equivocal  character, 
as  well  as  the  dirty  narrow  street  that  faces  the 
western  entrance  of  Westminster  Abbey.  Some 
twenty  years  ago  there  were  in  this  neighborhood 
several  old-fashioned,  quaint  public-houses  of  great 
antiquity,  in  existence. 

When  Parliament  is  opened,  or  prorogued,  or 
dissolved,  by  her  Majesty  in  person,  the  following 
is  the  order  observed  : — ^The  Queen  leaves  Bucking- 
ham Palace  at  a  quarter  before  two  o'clock,  being 
conducted  to  her  carriage  by  the  Lord  Chamberlain 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  81 

and  the  Yice-Chamberlain,  and  her  Crown  carried 
to  the  House  of  Lords  by  one  of  the  Lord  Cham- 
Iain's  chief  officers. 

The  State  procession  includes  a  carriage 
drawn  by  a  set  of  bays,  conveying  three  gentle- 
men ushers  and  the  Exon  in  waiting;  a  car- 
riage drawn  by  a  set  of  bays,  conveying  the 
Groom  in  waiting,  the  Groom  in  waiting  to  Prince 
Albert,,  and  two  Pages  of  Honor  in  waiting ;  a 
carriage  drawn  by  a  set  of  bays,  conveying  the 
Equerry  in  waiting,  the  Equerry  in  waiting  to 
Prince  Albert,  and  the  Groom  of  the  Eobes ;  a 
carriage  drawn  by  a  set  of  bays,  conveying  the 
Clerk  Marshal,  the  Silver  Stick  in  waiting,  the 
Field  Officer  in  waiting,  and  the  Comptroller  of 
the  Household ;  a  carriage  drawn  by  a  set  of  bays, 
conveying  the  Captain  of  the  Yeomen  of  the  Guard, 
the  Lord  in  waiting,  the  Lord  in  waiting  to  Prince 
Albert,  and  the  Treasurer  of  the  Household ;  a 
carriage  drawn  by  a  set  of  black  horses,  conveying 
the  Lady  in  waiting,  the  Lord  Steward,  the  Gold 
Stick  in  waiting,  and  the  Groom  of  the  Stole  to 
the  Prince.?-  Here  the  carriage  procession  is 
broken  by  the  Queen's  Marshalmen,  the  Queen's 
Footmen  in  State,  and  a  party  of  the  Yeoman 
Guard.  Then  follows  the  State  Coach  drawn  by 
eight  cream-colored  horses,  conveying  the  Queen, 


82  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

Prince  Albert,  the  Mistress  of  the  Eobes,  and  the 
Master  of  the  Horse. 

St.  James's  Park,  first  formed  by  Henry  YHI., 
was  re-arranged  and  planted  in  the  reign  of  Charles 
n.,  by  the  celebrated  French  architect,  Le  I^otre, 
who  designed  the  gardens  at  Yersailles.  The 
Park  was  again  re-modelled  in  the  reign  of  George 
lY.  It  is  very  picturesque  in  its  arrangements  ; 
in  the  centre  is  an  artificial  lake,  with  islands ;  lofty 
willows,  with  their  impending  branches,  deck  the 
margins  of  the  water ;  at  the  eastern  extremity  is  a 
Swiss  cottage,  and  at  the  western,  facing  Bucking- 
ham Palace,  a  beautiful  fountain. 

St.  James's  Park  is  very  picturesque  from  what- 
ever point  it  is  surveyed ;  its  adjacent  buildings, 
including  the  Palace,  the  Abbey,  and  the  Houses 
of  Parliament,  add  a  charm  unequalled  by  any 
other  public  promenade  in  London. 

John  Evelyn  makes  frequent  allusions  in 
his  "  Sylva,"  to  the  majestic  elms  in  St.  James's 
Park,  under  whose  shade  himself  and  most 
of  his  illustrious  contemporaries  were  accus- 
tomed to  promenade.  It  was  whil^  Charles  the 
Second  was  taking  his  accustomed  daily  walk  in 
this  park,  that  he  first  received  intimation  of  the 
pretended  Popish  plot,  which,  supported  by  the 
perjury  of  Thomas  Titus  Gates,  was  the  means  of 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  83 

bringing  so  many  worthy  men  to  the  scaffold,  and 
of  exciting  such  a  spirit  of  fanaticism  in  the  nation. 
"  On  the  12th  August,  1678,"  says  Hume,  "  one 
Kirby,  a  chemist,  accosted  the  king,  as  he  was 
walking  in  the  parks, — '  Sir,'  said  he,  '  keep  within 
the  company ;  your  enemies  have  designed  upon 
your  life,  and  you  may  be  shot  in  this  very  walk.'  " 
Being  asked  the  reason  of  these  strange  speeches, 
he  said  that  two  men,  called  Grove  and  Pickering, 
had  engaged  to  shoot  th.e  king,  and  Sir  George 
Wakeman,  the  Queen's  physician,  to  poison  him. 
This  intelligence,  he  added,  had  been  communi- 
cated to  him  by  Dr.  Tougne,  whom,  if  permitted 
he  would  introduce  to  his  majesty.  "  The  results 
of  this  conversation  are  but  too  well  known,  and 
form  altogether,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  pas- 
sages of  English  history."  JSTear  the  handsome 
building  recently  erected,  and  known  as  Her 
Majesty's  State  Paper  Office,  may  be  seen  part  of 
the  mansion  once  occupied  by  the  execrable  Judge 
Jeffries.  It  has  since  been  known  as  Duke-street 
Chapel. 

Milton  was  bom  at  the  Spread  Eagle^  Bread- 
street,  Cheapside,  December  9,  1608 ;  and  was 
buried,  November,  1674,  in  *  St.  Giles's  Church, 
Cripplegate,  without  even  a  stone,  in  the  first 
instance,  to  mark  his  resting-place;  but,  in  1793, 


84  MEMORIES    OF   THE 

a  bust  and  tablet  were  set  up  to  liis  memory  by 
public  subscription.  Milton,  before  be  resided 
in  Jewin-gardens,  Aldersgate,  is  believed  to  have 
removed  to,  and  "  kept  school "  in,  a  large  bouse 
on  the  west  side  of  Aldersgate-street,  wherein  met 
the  City  of  London  Literary  and  Scientific  Institu- 
tion, previously  to  the  rebuilding  of  their  premises 
in  1839.  Milton's  London  residences  have  all, 
with  one  exception,  disappeared,  and  cannot  be 
recognized ;  this  is  in  Betty  France,  at  "Westmin- 
ster, where  the  poet  lived  from  1651  to  1659. 
The  lower  part  of  the  house  is  a  chandler's  shop ; 
the  parlor,  up  stairs,  looks  into  St.  James's  Park. 
Here  part  of  "  Paradise  Lost  "  was  written.  The 
house  belonged  to  Jeremy  Bentham,  who  caused 
to  be  placed  on  its  front  a  tablet,  inscribed, 
"Sacred  to  Milton,  Prince  of  Poets."  Hazlitt 
also  resided  here.  The  peace  of  1814  was  cele- 
brated in  the  parks  with  great  splendor :  the 
grand  national  festival  took  place  on  the  first  of 
August  of  that  year;  in  Hyde  Park  there  was  a 
mimic  naval  fight  on  the  Serpentine,  and  a  fair 
which  lasted  several  days  ;  in  the  Green  Park  was 
erected  a  splendid  edifice  called  the  "  Temple  of 
Concord ;"  and  in  St.  James's  Park  a  building 
which  outlasted  all  the  rest.  A  Chinese  bridge  of 
wood  was  thrown  over  the  canal,  upon  the  centre 


GEEAT   METROPOLIS.  85 

of  whicli  was  constructed  a  lofty  Pagoda.  There 
were  also  various  Chinese  lanterns.  These  build- 
ings were  decorated  with  fireworks,  and  at  about 
midnight  the  Pagoda  accidentally  took  fire,  caus- 
ing the  loss  of  some  lives.  All  the  principal  streets 
of  the  metropolis  on  this  occasion  were  magnifi- 
cently illuminated.  A  more  enthusiastic  national 
jubilee,  perhaps,  never  elsewhere  was  witnessed. 

The  Horse  Guards,  guarded  by  mounted  sen- 
tries in  full  uniform,  is  the  locale  for  the  trans- 
actions of  all  affairs  connected  with  the  "War 
Department.  The  Duke  of  Wellington  is  the 
present  commander-in-chief. 


MEMORIES    OF   THE 


OHAPTEE    IV. 


The  Admiralty— Whitehall— The  Treasury— Downing-street— Westminster 
Abbey— Henry  VII.'s  Chapel — Poets'  Corner  —  Chapel  of  Edward 
the  Confessor— Funeral  of  Cromwell— St.  Margaret's— Old  Palace  Yard 
—Westminster  Hall— its  hist  jrical  Associations— Courts  of  Law  and 
Equity,  and  the  Star  Chamber, 


1 


AELIAMENT-STEEET  and  White. 

hall   are   full   of    notable   buildings, 

and  still  more  remarkable  for  their 

historical    associations.      We  begin  with 

the     head-quarters    of    the    Army     and 

'Nb.yj. 

The  Admiralty,  built  by  Eipley,  in  the  reign  of 
George  II.,  is  on  the  site  of  a  mansion  called  Wal- 
lingford  House ;  it  is  a  heavy  building  receding 
from,  but  communicating  with,  the  street  by 
advancing  wings ;  the  portico  of  the  main  build- 
ing is  a  tasteless  specimen  of  the  Ionic  order.  The 
court  is  enclosed  by  a  stone  screen,  decorated  with 
naval  emblems.  It  is  here  the  higher  departments 
of  the  business  of  the  navy  are  transacted.  The 
Lords  of  the  Admiralty  have  apartments  here. 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  89 

Opposite  the  Horse  Guards  stands  Whitehall 
Chapel,  from  one  of  the  windows  of  which  the  un- 
fortunate monarch  Charles  I.  suffered  decapita- 
tion. Could  the  walls  of  this  ancient  edifice  tell 
the  story  of  the  doings  and  sayings  they  have  wit- 
nessed, the  chronicle  would  go  a  great  way  to  fill 
up  the  mediaeval  history  of  England.  From  the 
time  of  the  Tudors  to  that  of  the  Stuarts,  the  names 
of  most  of  the  illustrious  personages  who  have  in- 
fluenced the  destinies  of  the  Empire  are  associated 
with  the  records  of  this  place. 

It  was  the  Palace  of  the  Kings  of  England 
from  the  reign  of  BLenry  YIII.  to  William  III.  It 
was  originally  called  York  House,  having  been  a 
residence  of  Cardinal  Wolsey,  and  so  named  by 
him ;  it  received  its  present  designation  on  its 
transfer  to  the  Crown.  Whitehall  formerly  occu- 
pied an  area  of  great  extent,  fronting  the  Thames 
on  the  east,  St.  James's  Park  on  the  west,  and 
stretching  from  Scotland  Yard  on  the  north  to 
Canon-row,  Westminster,  on  the  south.  There  was 
a  public  thoroughfare  through  the  Palace,  but  the 
number  of  funerals  which  passed  to  St.  Margaret's, 
Westminster,  offending  Henry  YIII.,  he  had  a 
cemetery  formed  at  St.  Martin's-in-the-Fields. 

The  great  event  which  distinguished  Whitehall 
is  so  well  known,  that  it  seems  unnecessary  to  do 


# 


90  MEMORIES    OF    THE 

more  than  merely  refer  to  it.  However,  those  who 
not  need  to  be  informed,  may  be  reminded  that 
here  Charles  I.  was  executed  on  the  30th  January, 
1649.  The  reader  who  has  gathered  his  knowledge 
of  that  event  from  Hume— so  long  the  most  popu- 
lar of  English  historians — might  imagine  that  the 
unfortunate  King  passed  his  last  days  in  White- 
hall, and  was  merely  brought  from  the  interior  to 
the  outside  of  that  edifice  to  suffer.  Such  is  not 
the  fact ;  the  King  spent  the  last  three  days  of  his 
life  in  St.  James's  Palace ;  and  was  brought  from 
thence  through  the  Park  to  Whitehall  on  the  fatal 
morning,  some  hours  before  that  fixed  for  the  exe- 
cution. He  remained  in  his  bed-chamber  engaged  in 
acts  of  devotion  till  the  final  hour  arrived,  when  he 
was  led  along  the  galleries  to  the  banquetting-house, 
through  the  wall  of  which  a  passage  was  broken  to 
the  scaffold.  A  man  in  a  closed  visor  stood  ready 
to  perform  the  office  of  executioner.  After  the 
short  and  feeling  address  to  the  few  persons  who 
could  hear  him,  and  his  affecting  colloquy  with 
good  Bishop  Juxon,  to  whom  he  replied,  "I  go 
from  a  corruptible  to  an  incorruptible  crown, 
where  no  disturbance  can  have  place,"  the  king 
laid  his  head  upon  the  block,  and  the  man  in  the 
visor  struck  it  from  his  body  at  one  blow.  Another 
man  in  a  similar  disguise  held  it  up  immediately, 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  91 

all  dripping  with  blood,  and  exclaimed,  "  This  is 
the  head  of  a  traitor  !" 

Whitehall  was  formerly  a  residence  of  Cardinal 
Wolsej,  but  was  surrendered  to  the  Crown  when 
that  proud  prelate  lost  the  favor  of  his  sovereign. 

Inigo  Jones,  the  architect  to  James  I.,  project- 
ed a  new  palace  on  a  magnificent  scale  upon  the 
site  of  the  present  building.  Had  the  scheme  been 
carried  out  it  would  have  been  the  most  vast  and 
symmetrical  design  ever  devised.  The  present 
building,  which  is  sometimes  called  the  Banquetting 
House,  presents  the  earliest  specimen  of  pure  Italian 
architecture  in  England.  Charles  I.  contemplated 
carrying  out  the  proposed  plan  of  his  predecessor, 
but  only  completed  the  decoration  of  the  ceiling 
by  Eubens,  which  cost  £3,000.  This  Banquetting- 
room  was  converted  into  a  chapel  by  George  I. 
The  whole  pile  was  the  residence  of  James  H.,  but 
in  ]  698  a  destructive  fire  consumed  all  but  that 
portion  which  now  remains.  Here  some  of  the 
regiments  stationed  in  London  formerly  attended 
Divine  Service.  The  Treasury,  which  extends  on 
the  opposite  side  of  Whitehall,  consists  of  a  long 
line  of  splendid  stone  buildings  of  the  Tuscan  and 
Ionic  orders.  Here  are  the  several  government 
offices  connected  with  the  Treasury  department ; 
and  here  is  deposited  the  talisman  that  keeps  to- 


92  MEMOKIES    OF   THE 

gether  the  social  fabric  of  the  Empire.  Downing- 
street  contains  the  offices  of  the  Privj  Council, 
the  Board  of  Trade,  and  the  official  residence  of  the 
Prime  Minister.  From  this  obscure  street  issue 
forth  edicts  and  measures  which  sometimes  shake 
the  world.  Downing-street,  in  a  word,  bears  the 
same  relation  to  the  politics  of  the  British  Empire, 
as  Lombard-street  and  the  Bank  of  England  do  to 
its  monetary  affairs. 

Passing  down  Parliament-street  we  approach 
that  venerable  pile — Westminster  Abbey.  This 
magnificent  structure,  although  inferior  in  archi- 
tectural splendor  and  symmetrical  proportions  to 
many  other  celebrated  Cathedrals,  is  yet  an  im- 
posing and  august  edifice.  It  is  dingy — almost 
black,  like  most  other  buildings  of  London — from 
the  prevailing  smoky  atmosphere  of  the  city ;  yet 
this  very  blackness  adds  to  its  picturesque  effect. 
Yiewed  longitudinally  it  appears  vast  in  extent 
and  height. 

It  was  founded  in  the  sixth  century,  and  is  said 
to  be  on  the  ruins  of  a  temple  of  Apollo,  and  was 
restored  by  Edgar  in  969,  and  re-erected  by 
Edward  the  Confessor  in  1065.  He  devoted  one- 
tenth  of  his  property  to  its  erection :  subsequent 
monarchs  still  further  enriched  the  stately  edifice, 
and  Henry  YIL  added,  at  the  eastern  extremity, 


GREAT     METKOJ'OLIS. 


95 


the  gorgeous  chapel  bearing  his  name.  For  elabo- 
rate richness  of  ornament,  this  beautiful  chapel 
surpasses  any  specimen  of  the  florid  Gothic  in  the 
world. 


HENKY     VII.' 8      CHAPEL. 


The  entire  length  of  Westminster  Abbey 
measures  five  hundred  and  thirty  feet,  length  of 
transept  two  hundred  and  fourteen  feet,  and  the 
height  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  This 
vast  mausoleum — the  final  resting-place  of  sove- 
reigns, statesmen,  poets,  warriors  and  divines — pre- 
sents an  object  of  the  most  intense  interest.  The 
eastern   end   of  the  Abbey  is  surrounded  by  up- 


yt)  MEMORIES    OP   THE  ^ 

wards  of  a  dozen  chapelries,  including  Henry  the 
Seventh's  Chapel.  Yiewed  from  the  western  or 
grand  entrance,  the  scene  presented  is  one  of  most 
imposing  grandeur.  The  prodigious  altitude  of  the 
groined  roof,  the  magnitude  of  the  arches,  and  the 
aerial  loftiness  of  the  vaulted  aisles,  all  tend  to  im- 
press the  beholder  with  a  feeling  of  religious  awe 
and  amazement.  The  numerous  mural  monuments 
and  tombs  so  thickly  clustered  about  the  sacred 
enclosure,  invest  this  renowned  temple  with  rare 
attractions  and   interest. 

Henry  YII.'s  Chapel  is  entered  by  a  flight 
of  twelve  steps  beneath  the  Oratory  of  Henry  Y. 

In  the  centre  of  Henry  the  Seventh's  chapel  are 
the  magnificently  decorated  shrines  of  the  rival 
queens,  Mary  and  Elizabeth,  whose  remains  now 
repose  peacefully  side  by  side.  As  one  gazes  upon 
these  mementoes  of  the  departed,  the  heart  is  mov- 
ed with  sympathy  for  the  hapless  fate  of  the  lovely 
and  unfortunate  victim  of  the  fierce  envy  and  am- 
bition of  her  tyrannical  oppressor.  The  stalls 
of  this  magnificent  chapel  are  richly  carved  in 
oak ;  over  which  hang  the  ancient  banners  of  the 
Knights  of  the  Bath,  apparently  ready  to  crumble 
to  pieces  from  age.  The  gorgeous  fret-work  of  the 
roof,  so  richly  carved,  bafiies  description ;  the 
whole  must  be  seen  to  be  duly  appreciated. 


GREAT    METROPOLIS.  97 

The  entrance  gates  are  of  oak,  overlaid  with  brass 
gilt,  and  wrought  into  various  devices — the  port- 
cullis exhibiting  the  descent  of  the  founder  from 
the  Beaufort  family,  and  the  crown  and  twisted 
roses  the  union  that  took  place,  on  Henry's  mar- 
riage, of  the  White  Eose  of  York  with  the  Red 
Rose  of  Lancaster.  The  Ghapel  consists  of  a  cen- 
tral aisle,  with  five  small  chapels  at  the  east  end, 
and  two  side  aisles,  north  and  south  ;  the  banners 
and  stalls  appertain  to  the  Knights  of  the  Most 
Honorable  Military  Order  of  the  Bath,  an  order 
of  merit  next  in  rank  in  this  country  to  the  Most 
ISToble  Order  of  the  Garter ;  the  Knights  were 
formerly  installed  in  this  Chapel ;  and  the  Dean 
of  Westminster  is  Dean  of  the  Order.  The  prin- 
cipal monuments  in  Henry  YII.'s  Chapel  are, — 
Altar-tomb  with  effigies  of  Henry  YH.  and  Queen 
(in  the  centre  of  the  chapel),  the  work  of  Peter 
Torrigiano,  an  Italian  sculptor : — Lord  Bacon  calls 
it  "  one  of  the  stateliest  and  daintiest  tombs  in 
Europe  :  "  the  heads  of  the  King  and  Queen  were 
originally  surmounted  with  crowns  ;  the  perpen- 
dicular enclosure  or  screen  is  of  brass,  and  the 
work  of  an  English  artist.  In  the  south  aisles  Al- 
tar-tomb, with  effigy  (by  Torrigiano)  of  Margaret, 
Countess  of  Richard,  mother  of  Henry  YIL, 
Altar-tomb   with   o^^y   of   the  mother  of   Lord 


98 


MEMORIES    OF    THE 


Darnlej,  husband  of  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots. 
Tomb,  with  effigy  (by  Cornelius  Cure)  of  Mary, 
Queen  of  Scots,  erected  by  James  I.,  who  brought 
his  mother's  body  from  Petersborough  Cathedral, 
and  buried  it  here.  Monument  to  George  Yilliers, 
Duke  of  Buckingham,  and  his  Duchess  ;  the 
Duke  was  assassinated  by  Felton,  in  1628  ;  his 
youngest  son,  Francis,  who  was  killed  in  the  Civil 
Wars,  and  his  eldest  son,  the  second  and  profli- 
gate duke,  are  buried  with  their  father  in  the  vault 
beneath.     Statue   of  the  first  wife  of   Sir  Robert 

Walpole,  erected 
by  her  son,  Ho- 
race Walpole,  the 
great  letter  -  wri- 
ter. In  the  north 
aisle — the  Tomb, 
with  an  effigy 
(by  Maximilian 
Coult,)  of  Queen 
Elizabeth ;  her 
sister,  Mary,  is 
buried  in  the 
same  grave  King 
James  I.  and 
Anne     of     Den- 


giip:at  METRoroLis.  99 

mark,  Henry  Prince  of  Wales,  the  Queen  of  Bo- 
hemia, and  Arabella  Stuart  are  also  buried  here. 
Monument  to  George  Monk,  Duke  of  Albemarle, 
who  restored  Charles  II.*  Sarcophagus  of  white 
marble,  containing  certain  bones  accidentally  dis- 
covered (July,  1674,)  in  a  modern  chest  below 
the  stairs  which  formerly  led  to  the  Chapel  of 
the  White  Tower,  and  believed  to  be  the  re- 
mains of  Edward  Y.,  and  his  brother  Kichard 
Duke  of  York,  murdered  by  order  of  their  uncle, 
King  Eichard  III.  Monuments  to  Saville,  Marquis 
of  Halifax,  the  statesman  and  wit ;  to  Montague, 
Earl  of  Halifax,  the  universal  patron  of  the  men 
of  genius  of  his  time. 

The  "  Poets'  Corner  "  is  profusely  studded  with 
these  shrines  of  genius ;  here  may  be  seen  mo- 
numents to  the  memories  of  Shakspeare,  Spenser, 
Ben  Jonson,  Chaucer,  Milton,  Cowper,  Gay, 
Blain,  Goldsmith,  Dryden,  Addison,  and  hosts 
of  other  illustrious  names  that  have  adorned  the 
brightest  pages  of  English  history. 

In  the  vicinity  may  also  be  seen  the  tombs  of 
Major  Andre,  Chatham,  Halifax,  Mansfield,  Grat- 
tan.  Canning,  Pitt,  Fox,  Sheridan,  Wilber- 
force,  Howe,  Warren,  Wolfe,  Eyre,  and  Sir  Clouds- 
ley  Shovel ;  also  Handel,  Busby,  Kemble,  Kneller. 

*  Cunningham. 

4 


100  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

Camden,  Barrow,  and  others  too  numerons  to  be 
recited  here. 

The  monument  or  entablature  to  the  memory 
of  Major  Andre,  erected  at  the  expense  of  George 
III.,  has  a  figure  of  Washington  on  the  bas-relief. 
"This  head,"  says  Charles  Lamb,  "has  on  three 
different  occasions  been  renewed  ;  in  consequence 
of  the  wanton  mischief  of  some  schoolboy,  fired 
perhaps  with  raw  notions  of  transatlantic  freedom. 
The  mischief  was  done,"  he  adds,  addressing 
Southey,  "  about  the  time  you  were  a  scholar 
there :  do  you  know  anything  about  the  unfortu- 
nate relic  ?  "  This  sly  allusion  to  the  early  political 
sentiments  of  the  great  poet,  caused  a  temporary 
cessation  of  friendship  with  the  essayist. 

Another  Chapel  (the  most  interesting  of  all), 
occupying  the  space  at  the  back  of  the  high  altar 
of  the  Abbey,  is  the  "  Chapel  of  St.  Edward  the 
Confessor,"  or  the  "  Chapel  of  the  Kings,"  entered 
from  the  ambulatory  by  a  temporary  staircase. 
The  centre  of  this  chapel  is  taken  up  by  the  shrine 
of  King  Edward  the  Confessor,  erected  in  the  reign 
of  Edward  III.,  and  richly  inlaid  with  mosaic 
work :  of  the  original  Latin  inscription,  only  a  few 
letters  remain.  Henry  TV.  was  seized  with  his  last 
illness  while  performing  his  devotions  at  this 
shrine.  There  is  the  Altar-tomb,  with  bronze  efiSgy, 


X  oft'a  fforne i 


GKKAT    MKTROrOLIS.  103 

of  Henry  III.,  and  Altar-tomb  of  Edward  I.,  com- 
posed of  five  large  slabs  of  marble.  When  this 
tomb  was  opened  in  1774,  the  body  of  the  king 
was  discovered  almost  entire,  with  a  crown  of  tin 
gilt  upon  his  head,  a  sceptre  of  copper  gilt  in  his 
right  hand,  and  a  sceptre  and  dove  of  the  same 
materials  in  his  left ;  and  in  this  state  he  is  still 
lying.  Here  are  also  the  Altar-tombs  of  Eleanor, 
Queen  of  Edward  I. ;  Edward  HI.,  and  Philippa, 
his  Queen  ;  of  Richard  H.  and  his  Queen.  Altar- 
tomb  and  chantry  of  Henry  Y.,  the  hero  of  A  gin- 
court:  the  head  of  the  king  was  of  solid  silver,  and 
the  figure  was  plated  with  the  same  metal ;  the 
head  was  stolen  at  the  Reformation  ;  the  helmet, 
shield  and  saddle  of  the  king  are  still  to  be 
seen  on  a  bar  above  the  turrets  of  the  chantry. 
A  gray  slab,  formerly  adorned  with  a  rich  brass 
figure,  covering  the  remains  of  Thomas  of 
Woodstock;  also  the  Altar -tomb  of  Elizabeth 
Tudor,  daughter  of  Henry  YII.  The  two  coro- 
nation chairs,  still  used  at  the  coronation  of  the 
Sovereigns  of  Great  Britain,  one  containing  the 
famous  stone  of  Scone,  on  which  the  Scottish 
kings  were  wont  to  be  crowned,  and  which  Ed- 
ward I.  carried  away  with  him,  as  an  evidence  of 
his  absolute  conquest  of  Scotland  :  this  stone  is 
twenty-six  inches  long,  sixteen  inches  wide,  and 


104  MEMORIES    OF    THE 

eleven  inches  thick,  and  is  fixed  in  the  bottom  of 
the  chair  bj  cramps  of  iron ;  it  is  nothing  more 
than  a  piece  of  reddish-gray  sandstone  squared  and 
smoothed  ;  the  more  modern  chair  was  made  for 
the  coronation  of  Mary,  Queen  of  William  III. 

The  funeral  obsequies  of  Oliver  Cromwell  were 
conducted  with  great  pomp  and  splendor,  in  "West- 
minster Abbey,  if  we  are  to  credit  the  chronicles 
of  the  time :  "  The  walls  were  hung  with  two  hun- 
dred and  forty  escutcheons ;  the  splendid  sorrows 
that  did  adorn  the  hearse  were  twenty-six  large 
embossed  shields,  and  twenty-four  smaller,  with 
crowns ;  sixty  badges,  with  his  crest ;  thirty-six 
scrolls,  with  mottoes ;  his  efi^gj  carved  and  su- 
perbly arrayed  ;  a  velvet  pall,  which  contained 
eighty  yards,"  etc.  And  to  show  the  barbarous 
excesses  to  which  party  feeling  carried  men,  not 
long  after,  the  royalists  rifled  his  grave,  with  rapid, 
demoniacal  desecration.  Even  Evelyn,  in  his 
Diary,  refers  to  the  latter  event,  in  the  following 
fanatical  spirit: — "This  day  (Jan.  ^0.)  were  the 
carcasses  of  those  arch-rebels,  Cromwell,  Bradshaw 
(the  judge  who  condemned  his  Majesty),  and  Ire- 
ton,  son-in-law  to  the  Usurper,  dragged  out  of  their 
superb  tombs  in  Westminster  Abbey  among  the 
kings,  to  Tyburn,  and  hanged  on  the  gallows  there 
from  nine  in  the  morning  to  six  at  night,  and  then 


(IREAT     MKTKOPOLIS.  106 

buried  under  that  fatal  and  ignominious  monument 
in  a  deep  pit :  thousands  who  had  seen  them  in 
all  their  pride  being*  the  spectators.  Look  back 
to  [N'ov.  22d,  1658,  Cromwell's  funeral,  and  be 
astonished,  and  fear  God,  and  honor  the  King,  and 
meddle  not  with  them  that  are  given  to  change." 

Many  an  enchanted  hour  have  we  lingered  with- 
in those  cloistered  aisles,  listening  with  rapt  and 
thrilling  emotion  to  the  solemn,  swelling  peals  of 
the  organ,  as  they  reverberated  among  the  lofty 
arches.  Like  all  such  edifices,  Westminster  Ab- 
bey is  to  be  viewed  to  the  greatest  advantage  by 
moonlight,  or  at  twilight ;  it  is  then  its  moul- 
dering, reverent,  and  dark  walls,  look  most  im- 
posing and  grand.  During  winter,  when  the  after- 
noon service  is  performed  in  twilight,  and  the 
central  enclosure  devoted  to  the  purpose  is  lighted 
by  long  wax  tapers,  the  choristers,  deacons  and 
prebends,  dressed  in  white  robes,  present  a  strik- 
ing contrast  with  the  deep  shadows  of  the  dim  and 
lofty  arches,  while  faint  rays  struggle  through 

"  Those  storied  windows  richly  dight, 
Shedding  a  dim  religious  light." 

It  is  then  also  that  the  grotesque  effigies  and 
sculptured  busts  there  present  a  most  startling 
effect,  as  seen  dimly  standing  out  from  the  walls. 
In  a  word,  and  that  a  borrowed  one — we  may  sum 


106  MEMOKIES    OF   THE 

r 

up  all  by  saying,  that  in  visiting  this  magnificent 
pile,  the  eye  is  astonished  by  the  "  pomp  of  its 
architecture  and  the  elaborate  beauty  of  its  sculp- 
tured detail." 

It  will  be  recollected  that  the  coronation  of  the 
Sovereigns  of  England  takes  place  within  the  Ab- 
bey, on  which  occasion  it  is  splendidly  decorated. 

ISTot  far  from  the  Abbey  stood  the  Sanctuary, 
the  place  of  refuge  absurdly  granted  in  former 
times  to  criminals  of  certain  denominations.  The 
church  belonging  to  it  was  in  the  form  of  a  cross. 
It  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  work  of  the  Con- 
fessor. Within  its  precincts  was  born  Edward  Y. ; 
and  here  his  unhappy  mother  took  refuge  with  her 
younger  son  Richard,  to  secure  him  from  his  cruel 
uncle,  who  had  already  possession  of  the  elder 
brother. 

"West  of  the  Sanctuary  stood  the  Eleemosy- 
nary, or  Almonry,  where  the  alms  of  the  Abbey 
were  distributed.  But  it  is  still  more  remarkable 
for  having  been  the  place  where  the  first  printing- 
press  ever  known  in  England  was  erected.  It  was 
in  1474,  that  William  Caxton  produced  "The 
Game  and  Play  of  the  Chesse." 

The  church  of  St.  Margaret's  is  an  unimportant 
building,  standing  under  the  shadow  of  the  Ab- 
bey ;  but  has  yet  its  interest,  if  only  for  contain- 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  107 

ing  the  ashes  of  Sir  Walter  Kaleigh,  and  of  the 
early  poet  Skelton,  so  feared  for  his  satires  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  YIII.  The  church,  at  first  a 
chapel,  was  founded  by  Edward  the  Confessor, 
and  rebuilt  by  Edward  I.  and  Edward  lY.  The 
House  of  Commons  assemble  here  previous  to  the 
opening  of  Parliament. 

In  St.  Margaret's,  Westminster,  are  also  buried 
Caxton ;  the  second  wife  of  John  Milton ;  and 
the   mother   of   Oliver   Cromwell. 

Passing  from  the  church  of  St.  Margaret,  we 
cross  over  to  Old  Palace  Yard,  where  stands  West- 
minster Hall,  one  of  the  most  spacious  Gothic 
structures  in  the  world,  which  also  formed  part  of  a 
London  Palace  in  the  time  of  Edward  the  Confessor. 
Subsequent  monarchs  made  their  additions  to  this 
famous  palace,  but  all  that  remains  is  the  present 
magnificent  hall,  with  its  cloisters,  which  commu- 
nicate with  the  chapel  of  St.  Stephen's,  the  name 
still  occasionally  given  to  the  House  of  Commons. 
Westminster  Hall  is  full  of  chronicles  of  the 
olden  times.  When  Peter  the  Great  was  taken 
into  Westminster  Hall,  he  inquired  who  those 
busy  people  were  in  wigs  and  black  gowns. 
He  was  answered  they  were  lawyers.  "  Lawyers !" 
said  he,  with  a  face  of  astonishment ;  "  why,  I 
have    but    two   in    my   whole   dominions,    and  I 


108  MEMORIES    OF    THE  * 

believe  I  shall  hang  one  of  them  the  moment  I 
get  home." 

In  the  Hall  were  formerly  suspended  the  ban- 
ners taken  from  Charles  I.  at  the  battle  of  I^asebj ; 
from  Charles  II.  at  the  battles  of  Worcester, 
Preston,  and  Dunbar ;  and,  somewhat  later,  those 
taken  at  the  battle  of  Blenheim.  Here,  at  the 
Tipper  end  of  the  Hall,  Oliver  Cromwell  was  in- 
augurated as  Lord  Protector,  sitting  in  a  robe  of 
purple  velvet  lined  with  ermine,  on  a  rich  cloth  of 
state,  with  the  gold  sceptre  in  one  hand,  the  Bible 
richly  gilt  and  bossed  in  the  other,  and  his  sword 
at  his  side  ;  and  here,  four  years  later,  at  the  top 
of  the  Hall  fronting  Palace  Yard,  his  head  was 
set  on  a  pole,  with  the  skull  of  Ireton  on  one 
side  of  it  and  that  of  Bradshavv  on  the  other. 
Here  shameless  ruffians  sought  employment  as 
hired  witnesses,  and  walked  openly  in  the  Hall 
with  a  straw  in  the  shoe  to  denote  their  quality  ; 
and  here  the  good,  the  great,  the  brave,  the  wise, 
and  the  abandoned  have  been  brought  to  trial. 
Here  (in  the  Hall  of  Rufus)  Sir  William  Wallace 
was  tried  and  condemned  ;  here,  in  this  very  Hall, 
Sir  Thomas  More  and  the  Protector  Somerset  were 
doomed  to  the  scaffold.  Here  the  notorious  Earl 
and  Countess  of  Somerset  were  tried  in  the  reign 
of  James  I.  for  the  murder  of  Sir  Thomas  Over- 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  109 

bury.  Here  the  great  Earl  of  Stafford  was  con- 
demned, the  King  being  present,  and  the  Com- 
mons sitting  bareheaded  all  the  time.  Here  the 
High  Court  of  Justice  sat  which  condemned  King 
Charles  I.,  the  upper  part  of  the  Hall  hung  with 
scarlet  cloth,  and  the  King  sitting  covered,  with 
the  !N'aseby  banners  over  his  head  ;  here  Lilly,  the 
astrologer,  who  was  present,  saw  the  silver  top 
fall  from  the  King's  staff,  and  others  heard  Lady 
Fairfax  exclaim,  when  her  husband's  name  was 
called  over,  "  He  has  more  wit  than  to  be  here." 
Here,  in  the  reign  of  James  H.,  the  Seven  Bishops 
were  acquitted.  Here  Dr.  Sacheverel  was  tried 
and  pronounced  guilty  by  a  majority  of  17.  Here 
the  rebel  Lords  of  1Y45,  Kilmarnock,  Balmerino, 
and  Lovat,  were  heard  and  condemned.  Hero 
Lord  Byron  was  tried  for  killing  Mr.  Chaworth. 
Here  Warren  Hastings  was  tried,  and  Burke  and 
Sheridan  grew  eloquent  and  impassioned,  while 
senators  by  birth  and  election,  and  the  beauty  and 
rank  of  Great  Britain,  sat  earnest  listeners  and 
spectators  of  the  extraordinary  scene.  The  last  pub- 
lic trial  in  the  Hall  itself  was  Lord  Melville's,  in 
1806  ;  and  the  last  coronation  dinner  in  the  Hall 
was  that  of  George  lY.,  when,  for  the  last  time 
possibly,  according  to  the  custom  "maintained  for 
ages,  the  King's  champion  (Dymocke)  rode  on 
4* 


110  MEMORIES    OF   THE 

horseback  into  the  Hall,  in  full  armor,  and  threw 
down  the  gauntlet  on  the  floor,  challenging  the 
world  in  the  King's  behalf.  This  noble  Hall  is  239 
feet  long  bj  68  feet  broad.  It  is  said  to  be  the 
largest  apartment  not  supported  by  pillars  in  the 
world,  except  one — the  Hall  of  Reason,   at  Padua. 

It  was  originally  built  in  the  reign  of  William 
Rufus  ;  but  the  Hall,  as  it  now  exists,  was  erected 
1367-99.  Parliaments  were  held  in  this  Hall ; 
and  it  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  the  first  meeting 
of  Parliament  in  the  new  edifice  was  for  deposing 
the  very  King  by  whom  it  had  been  built.  All 
the  exterior  now  visible  is  of  comparatively  modern 
date,  but  its  interior,  with  its  splendid  roof,  pre- 
sents the  most  imposing  specimen  extant  of  mediae- 
val Gothic  architecture. 

Mr.  Weale  regards  it  as  holding  a  similar  place 
among  mediaeval  structures  which  the  Colosseum 
did  towards  those  of  antiqnity — bearing  the  same 
relation  to  the  Greek  temples  which  that  amphi- 
theatre did  to  the  Grecian  ones. 

The  open  square  in  front  of  the  Hall  is 
classic  ground :  in  the  days  of  King  Charles  the 
Second,  here  stood  a  handsome  conduit  or  foun- 
tain ;  and  near  the  steps  leading  to  Westminster 
bridge  was  the  "  clock-tower,"  supposed  to  have 
been  the  prison  of  Richard  Lovelace,  the  poet,  who 


11 


was  confined  by  the  Parliament  of  Cromwell,  for 
presenting  a  petition  from  the  county  of  Kent, 
praying  for  the  restitution  of  the  King  to  his  rights. 
While  in  captivity  he  wrote  his  beautiful  song  to 
"Althea  from  Prison."  This  open  space  was  also 
the  scene  of  the  infliction  of  the  pillory ;  it  was, 
however,  the  site  of  more  severe  punishments,  and 
is  especially  rendered  memorable  as  the  place  of 
execution  of  Sir  Walter  Kaleigh.  He  suffered  the 
29th  of  October,  1618,  in  pursuance  of  a  sentence 
passed,  it  will  be  recollected,  fifteen  years  pre- 
viously. 

He  was  brought  to  Palace  Yard  at  nine  in  the 
morning,  as  we  learn  from  the  "  State  Trials,"  and 
manifested  during  his  last  moments  an  earnest 
striving  to  die  without  exhibiting  a  sign  of  fear. 
He  had  suffered  for  some  days  of  a  fever,  and  lest 
the  weakness  of  his  body  should  be  considered  a 
weakness  of  mind,  he  stopped  immediately  he  ar- 
rived on  the  scaffold,  and  addressed  the  persons 
about  him,  saying : — "  I  desire  you  will  bear  with 
me  withal,  and  if  I  show  any  weakness,  I  beseech 
you  to  attribute  it  to  my  malady,  for  this  is  the 
hour  in  which  it  is  wont  to  come."  He  then  sat 
down,  paused  awhile,  and  directing  his  eyes  tOr 
wards  a  window  where  Lords  Arundel,  IS'orthamp- 
ton,  Doncaster  and  some  gentlemen  were  sitting, 


llg^   r^-^^    ^MEMORIES   OF   THE     •    -'    • 

he  said,  as  if  addressing  them,  that  he  thanked 
God  that  he  had  been  brought  out  to  die  in  the 
daylight  and  not  in  the  darkness,  meaning  proba- 
bly that  he  rejoiced  he  was  not  put  secretly  to  death 
in  the  Tower.  Perceiving  that  the  lords  did  not 
hear  what  he  said,  as  they  were  at  some  distance 
from  the  scaffold,  he  raised  his  voice,  but  Lord 
Arundel  entreated  him  not  to  do  so,  as  they  would 
come  to  the  scaffold  beside  him,  and  hear  what  he 
had  to  say.  Space  was  made  for  them  accordingly, 
and  Sir  Walter,  in  a  firm  voice,  made  a  long 
speech  in  defence  and  explanation  of  his  conduct. 
He  then  prepared  himself  for  death,  giving  away 
his  hat,  his  cap,  and  some  money  to  such  persons 
about  him  as  he  knew,  that  they  should  preserve 
them  as  memorials  of  him  after  he  was  gone.  Tak- 
ing leave  of  Lord  Arundel,  he  requested  him — so 
strong  even  in  that  hour  was  his  desire  to  stand 
well  in  the  estimation  of  his  contemporaries  and  of 
posterity — to  desire  the  king  that  no  scandalous 
writings  to  defame  him  should  be  published  after 
his  death.  He  then  said  :  "  I  have  a  long  journey 
to  go,  and  must  therefore  bid  you  farewell."  Tak- 
ing off  his  doublet  and  gown,  he  desired  the  exe- 
cutioner to  show  him  the  axe.  The  latter  appeared 
to  hesitate  a  little,  upon  which  Ealeigh  said,  "  I 
prithee,  let   me   see  it !     Dost   thou    think   I   am 


GREAT    METKOPOLIS.  113 

afraid?  "    The  man  then  gave  it  to  him,  and  the 
victim  felt   carefully  along  the  edge,  and  said  to 
the  sheriff,  smiling,    "  This  is  a  sharp   medicine, 
and  will  cure  all  my  diseases."     He  then   walked 
to  the  several  sides  of  the  scaffold,  and  entreated 
the  people   to   pray   that  God    would    give   him 
strength.     The  executioner  kneeling  down  to  en- 
treat his  forgiveness,  Sir  Walter  laid  his  hand  upon 
his   shoulder,    and   said    he   freely   forgave    him. 
Being  asked  which  way  he  would  lay  his  head  upon 
the  block,  he  answered,  "  So  the  heart  be  straight, 
it    is    no    matter    which    way    the*  head    lieth." 
He  then  laid  his  head  upon  the  block,  his  face 
being  turned  towards  the  east ;  and  the  executioner, 
.throwing  down  his  cloak  lest  he  should  spoil  Sir 
Walter's  embroidered  gown,  struck  off  his  head  at 
two  blows,  the  body  never  shrinking  or  moving. 
The  head  was,  according  to  the  customary  practice, 
shown  at  both  sides  of  the  scaffold,  and  put  into  a 
red  leather   bag.     His  wrought  velvet   gown  was 
thrown   over  it,    and   it  was   carried   away  in  a 
mourning-coach  to  his  disconsolate  widow — to  her 
to  whom  he  addressed  such  affecting  letters  from 
the  Tower — and  placed,  with  his  body,  in  St.  Mar- 
garet's. 

Westminster  Hall,  for  many  ages  the  principal 
seat  of  the  courts  of  law,  was  originally  used  by 


114:  MEMORIES  OF  THE 

William  Rufus  as  the  baiiqnetting  hall  of  his  ad- 
joining palace.  His  subjects  were  sorely  taxed  for 
this  and  other  expenses.  He  often  kept  his  Christ- 
mas here  in  great  state,  according  to  the  fashion 
of  the  ]^orman  Princes.  St.  Stephen's  Chapel  was 
founded  in  1150  ;  which,  in  the  reign  of  Edward 
YI.,  was  first  used  as  the  hall  of  British  legislature. 
From  this  time  the  ancie  nt  palace  of  Westminster 
passed  from  being  a  royal  residence  to  the  double 
purpose  of  a  seat  of  legislature  and  of  judicature. 

The  old  Houses  of  Parliament  were  destroyed 
by  fire  in  1834.  -  We  well  remember  the  magnificent 
appearance  which  Westminster  Abbey  presented 
illuminated  by  the  blazing  pile.  The  interior  of 
Westminster  Hall  was,  until  the  middle  of  the  last, 
century,  or  later,  filled  with  shops  and  stalls,  prin- 
cipally of  booksellers. 

The  several  Courts  of  Law  and  Equity  are  with- 
in the  precints  of  Westminster  Hall.  They  include 
the  Court  of  Exchequer,  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas,  and  the  Court  of  Queen's  Bench.  This 
latter  took  its  name  from  the  early  custom  (in 
vogue  with  the  Saxons  and  Normans)  of  the  sove- 
reign presiding  in  person  to  adjudicate  causes. 

The  Star-Chamber  formed  a  part  of  the  mass  of 
buildings  included  in  Westminster  Hall  and  the 
House  of  Legislature.     "  The  name  of  this  court  of 


GKEAT     METROPOLIS  115 

justice,"  says  Pennant,  "  so  tremendous  in  the 
Tudor  and  part  of  the  Stuart  reign,  was  not  taken 
from  the  stars  with  which  its  roof  is  said  to  have 
been  painted  (which  were  obliterated  even  before 
the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth),  but  from  the  Staira 
or  Jewish  covenants,  which  were  deposited  there 
by  order  of  Richard  I.,  in  chests  under  three  locks. 
ISTo  Starr  was  allowed  to  be  valid  except  found  in 
those  repositories,  where  they  remained  till  the 
banishment  of  the  Jews  by  Edward  I.  In  the 
reigns  of  Henry  YII.  and  Henry  YIII.  a  new  mo- 
delled court  was  erected  here,  consisting  of  divers 
lords,  spiritual  and  temporal,  with  two  judges  of 
the  courts  of  Common  Law,  without  the  interven- 
tion of  a  jury.  The  powers  of  this  court  were  so 
abused,  that  it  was  abolished  altogether  by  the 
House  of  Commons  in  the  sixteenth  year  of  the 
reign  of  Charles  I. 


116  MEMOEIES   OF   THE 


CHAPTER    V. 

The  new  Houses  of  Parliament — Interior  View — Vauxhall — Lambeth  Palace 
— Lollards'  Tower — Westminster  Bridge— King-street— Sir  Robert  Peel's 
House— Charing  Cross— Equestrian  Statue  of  Charles  L — Statue  of 
George  IIL— Scotland  Yard— British  Institution— The  National  Gallery 
—  Northumberland  House  —  Craven-street  —  Norfolk-street  —  Denham 
House— The  Adelphi— Salisbury-street— The  Savoy— Waterloo  Bridge 
— Burleigh  House. 


IHE  NEW  Palace  of  Westminster 
next  claims  our  attention.  This  im- 
mense and  splendid  pile  of  Gothic 
buildings  presents  one  of  the  most 
triumphant  examples  of  modern  art.  The 
style  of  architecture  is  that  of  Henry  the 
Eighth,  from  the  design  of  Barry.  From 
L  whatever  position  this  sumptuous  edifice  is 
viewed,  it  presents  a  most  imposing  spectacle. 
The  eye  is  dazzled  with  the  profusion  of  its 
gorgeous  decorations,  and  baffled  in  the  attempt 
of  measuring  its  vast  dimensions.  It  presents  the 
grandest  aspect  as  seen  from  the  river  Thames. 
Its  numerous  pinnacles,  and  its  rich  Gothic  fret- 
work, admirably  comport  with  its  several  elegant 
and  lofty  turrets  and  towers.  A  palace  of  such  ex- 
tent as  eight  acres  is  naturally  expected  to  afibrd, 
and  upon  the  construction  of  which  such  vast  sums 


Crijc  Kfin  l^ouscs  of  yarliament. 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  119 

have  been  expended,  may  well  be  expected  to  be- 
come tbe  boast  of  the  British  Empire.  Some  idea 
of  the  magnitude  of  this  national  edifice  may  be 
formed  when  it  is  stated  that  the  Palace  to  the 
eastward  presents  a  frontage  of  nearly  one  tlionsand 
feet.  The  two  legislative  chambers — those  of  the 
Lords  and  Commons — are  placed  in  the  centre  of 
the  building,  its  other  portions  being  occupied  as 
porches,  committee  rooms,  etc.  The  general  public 
entrance  is  through  Westminster  Hall,  up  a  flight 
of  steps  at  its  south  end,  into  a  square  vaulted  ves- 
tibule called  St.  Stephen's  Porch,  thence  into  the 
octagonal  hall  to  the  centre  of  the  edifice.  In  this 
vicinity  are  long  corridors  and  lobbies  that  connect 
the  House  of  Peers  with  the  House  of  Commons. 
These  splendid  approaches  occupy  altogether  about 
fifteen  times  the  capacity  of  either  house.  The 
royal  entrance  (from  the  great  tower  at  the  south- 
west corner,)  includes  the  Robing  Room  and  other 
splendid  apartments.  One  of  the  galleries  measures 
110  feet  long.  The  interior  of  the  House  of  Lords 
is  very  superb.  It  is  (if  not  intrinsically,  at  least 
effectively)  the  richest  chamber  erected  since  the 
fall  of  the  mediaeval  church  architecture  ;  a  splen- 
did effect  being  produced  by  gilding  all  the 
mouldings,  (which  include  the  whole  of  the  stone 
and  most  of  the  wood  work,)  and  covering  the  re- 


120  MEMORIES    OF    THE 

raaining  surfaces  with  minute  colored  patterns.  The 
House  is  nearly  an  exact  double  cube  of  45  feet; 
the  ceiling  is  divided  by  crossing  beams  into  eighteen 
squares,  corresponding  to  the  arched  compartments 
of  the  walls,  which  are  all  similar,  except  that  the 
six  on  each  side  are  occupied  by  windows  with 
colored  devices,  and  the  three  at  each  end  by  fres- 
coes, a  species  of  painting  now  first  attempted  in 
England.  These  frescoes  illustrate  important  events 
in  English  history.  The  throne  is  magnificently 
fitted  up  with  tapestry  superbly  embroidered. 

The  general  effect  on  entering  is  gorgeous  in  the 
extreme  :  such  a  blaze  of  gilding,  carvings,  and 
colored  decorations  is  not  to  be  elsewhere  found  in 
England  ;  whilst  the  noble  proportions  of  the  apart- 
ment, the  elaborately  carved  panels,  and  the  bril- 
liant colors  which  meet  the  eye  on  every  side,  con- 
tribute to  produce  a  cowp-<P-(Bil  at  once  startling 
and  beautiful.  At  the  upper  end  is  the  throne, 
which  her  Majesty  occupies  on  state  occasions  ;  to 
the  right  is  a  chair  for  the  Prince  of  Wales  ;  and 
to  the  left  a  corresponding  one  for  Prince  Albert. 
The  Lord  Chancellor  sits  immediately  below  the 
throne,  on  what  is  called  the  wool-sack  ;  and  to  the 
right  and  left  are  benches,  covered  with  red  mo- 
rocco leather,  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the  peers. 
There  is  a  bar  across  the  House  at  the  end  opposite 


GREAT    MK'l'IiOPOLIo.  121 

the  throne,  without  which  the  Usher  of  the  Black 
Rod  is  stationed.  The  House  of  Commons  is  very 
beautiful,  though  less  ornate.  A  wondrous  pile  is 
this  Palace  of  Westminster,  which  seems  to  stand 
in  proud  rivalry  with  the  ancient  and  majestic 
structure  in  its  immediate  vicinity — Westminster 
Abbey. 

Prior  to  the  erection  of  the  present  Houses  of 
Parliament,  the  House  of  Lords  formerly  stood  to 
the  south  of  that  of  the  Commons.  The  Com- 
mons first  convened  in  what  was  called  St.  Ste- 
phen's Chapel,  during  the  reign  of  Edward  YI. 
The  old  House  of  Lords  was  a  plain  room  hung 
with  tapestry  representing  the  defeat  of  the  Spanish 
Armada  ;  and  there  was  an  apartment  close  to  it 
called  the  Painted  Chamber,  in  which  both  Houses 
of  Parliament  held  their  conferences.  Under  the 
old  Honse  of  Lords  there  was  a  cellar  called  the 
cellar  of  Guy  Fawkes,  because  the  gunpowder  pre- 
pared for  the  destruction  of  the  Lords  and  Com- 
mons was  placed  within  it.  The  old  Houses  of 
Parliament  were  destroyed  by  fire  in  1834. 

The  Victoria  Tower  reaches  to  340  feet  in 
height  What  St.  Peter's  is  to  old  Rome,  the  new 
Palace  of  Westminster  is  to  old  England,  the  ex- 
ponent  of  her  wealth,   taste,   and    skill. 

Crossing  Yauxhall  Bridge,  the  first  object  of  in- 


122  MEMORIES    OF   THE 

terest  that  arrests  our  attention  is  Yauxhall.  Yanx- 
hall,  or,  as  it  was  originally  called,  Fulkes'  Hall, 
is  supposed  to  have  descended  from  a  distin- 
guished Norman  warrior  in  the  reign  of  King  John, 
who  occupied  and  owned  a  manor  on  this  site. 
During  the  Protectorate,  the  mansion  was  occupied 
by  the  well-known  mechanical  genius.  Sir  Samuel 
Morland.  It  was  also  at  Yauxhall  that  the  gaj 
and  gallant  Duke  of  Monmouth,  after  his  defeat  at 
the  battle  of  Sedgmoor,  was  met  by  a  guard  of  sol- 
diers, who  conducted  him  to  the  Tower.  The  mo- 
dem name  of  Yauxhall  is  associated  with  the  gaie- 
ties of  fashionable  amusement:  it  is  also  rendered 
classic  by  the  genius  of  Addison,  Fielding,  Gold- 
smith, Horace  Walpole,  Madame  D'Arblay,  and 
others.  The  glories  of  this  place  of  resort  have  not 
yet  passed  away.  It  is  beautifully  laid  out  with 
shady  vistas,  lighted  by  a  thousand  variegated 
lamps,  with  sparkling  fountains,  and  the  joyous 
sounds  of  music  and  song.  Evelyn,  Pepys,  and 
others  refer  to  these  celebrated  gardens.  Green, 
the  aeronaut,  it  will  be  remembered,  has  made  nu- 
merous ascents  from  this  place.  "We  recollect  Yaux- 
hall sandwiches  were  the  thinnest  we  ever  saw  or 
tasted  ;  it  was  the  practice  here,  also,  never  to  give 
change  for  any  refreshments  you  might  pur- 
chase at  those  far-famed  gardens. 


GREAT    MEIKOPOLIS. 


123 


The  ancient  manor  of  Lambeth,  even  in  its  ear- 
liest associations,  is  replete  with  interest.  It  dates 
back  about  eight  centuries,  and  has  been  the  Archi- 


episcopal  See  since  the  eleventh  century.  Tlie  ex- 
pense of  its  erection  was  imposed  by  the  Pope  upon 
Archbishop  Boniface,  as  a  punishment  for  an  of- 
fence he  had  committed  against  His  Holiness.  The 
Lollards'  Tower  is  rife  with  the  melancholy  story 
of  the  suffering  followers  of  Wickliffe.  The  great 
hall  is  beautifully  decorated,  and  there  is  a  noble 
collection  of  rare  books :  this  library  was  founded  in 
1610.  It  contains  upwards  of  25,000  volumes,  some 
of  which  are  very  choice.      Monuments  of  Arch- 


124  MEAIOIITES    OF    THE 

bishop  Laud,  Parker,  Latimer,  Cranmer,  etc.,  are 
here.  Many  celebrated  councils  were  held  at  Lam- 
beth Palace.  The  much  admired  Hall  was  built  by 
Bishop  Juxon,  in  1662.  Lambeth  Palace  was  the 
ancient  residence  of  the  Archbishops  of  Canter- 
bury. At  the  top  of  one  of  its  towers  is  the  prison 
in  which  the  Lollards  were  confined. 

The  original  building,  erected  in  1191,  was  first 
intended  for  a  college  of  canons  ;  but,  as  the  Pope 
refused  his  consent  to  its  establishment,  it  was  con- 
verted into  an  archi episcopal  palace,  and  has  ever 
since  been  the  town  residence  of  the  primate  of  all 
England.  Great  additions  were  made  to  it  about 
1250,  and  in  the  fifteenth  century  Archbishop  Chi- 
chele  built  a  square  stone  tower  towards  the  river, 
called  the  Lollards'  Tower.  Subsequent  additions 
were  made  by  Cranmer,  Pole,  Parker,  Juxon,  San- 
croft,  and  Tillotson  ;  but  the  whole,  as  seen  from 
the  outside,  is  a  very  dull-looking  brick  structure, 
little  interesting  except  from  its  antiquity.  The 
additions,  completed  in  1833,  at  a  cost  of  nearly 
80,000^.,  are  executed  in  better  taste. 

The  Lollards,  a  sect  of  liberal  opinions,  grew  out 
of  a  schism  in  the  Romish  Church,  which  took  its 
rise  about  the  middle  of  the  14th  century.  As  ear- 
ly as  1322,  one  Walter  Lollard  is  said  to  have  suf- 
fered martyrdom  at  Cologne,  for  similar  heretical 


5rf)e  Itjall  of  iLamfjrtf)  \BaUtt. 


GREAT    METROPOLIS.  125 

opinions.  Fierce  persecutions  pursued  the  Lollards ; 
the  first  victim  was  Sawtre,  Kector  of  Lynn,  in 
!N"orfolk.  He  was  burned  in  Smithfield,  1401.  In 
1413,  happened  the  ill-judged  and  fatal  rising  of  the 
Lollards  under  Sir  John  Oldcastle.  They  were 
speedily  overthrown,  and  the  grievous  spectacle  of 
the  stake  and  the  faggot  was  the  frequent  result. 
The  Lollards'  Tower,  the  stronghold  of  tyranny  and 
persecution,  was  used  for  the  incarceration  of  these 
unfortunate  victims  of  Romish  bigotry. 

Returning  over  Westminster  Bridge,  we  shall 
have  to  retrace  our  steps  in  passing  up  to  the 
Strand  and  its  vicinitv.  Instead,  however,  of 
going  through  Parliament-street,  let  us  take 
a  dingy,  dirty,  narrow  lane  running  parallel, 
a  little  to  the  west.  It  is  called  King-street,  and 
through  this  same  thoroughfare  were  performed  the 
royal  progresses  of  the  dainty  Elizabeth,  James  I., 
and  Charles  I.,  to  the  Parliament  House.  Oliver 
Cromwell  and  "his  iron  band"  trudged  through 
the  same  street.  Cromwell,  indeed,  once  lived  in 
it,  as  is  seen  by  the  following  extracts  from  the 
newspapers  of  the  time. 

Referring  to  the  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland, 
continues  the  writer : 

"  This  afternoone,  when  the  House  was  rising,  and  had  ad- 
journed untill  the  Thursday  following,  Cromwell  did  take  his 


126  MEMORIES    OF    THE 

leave  of  Master  Speaker  and  all  the  members  then  present,  and 
taking  horse  at  his  house  in  King-street,  he  advanced  towards 
Windsor,  it  being  his  way  towards  Ireland,  attended  with  a  reti- 
nue of  gallant  men  for  his  life-guard  ;  the  trumpets  sounding 
all  the  way  as  they  marched  through  the  streets."* 

"  This  evening,  about  five  of  the  clock,  (July  10,)  the  Lord 
Lieutenant  of  Ireland  began  his  journey,  by  the  way  of  Wind- 
sore,  and  so  to  Bristol ;  he  went  forth  in  that  state  and  equipage 
as  the  like  has  hardly  been  seen ;  hiraselfe  in  a  coach  of  six 
gallant  Flanders'  mares,  whitish-grey,  divers  coaches  accom- 
panying him,  and  very  many  great  officers  of  the  army ;  his 
life-gaurd  consisting  of  80  gallant  men,  the  meanest  whereof  a 
commander  or  esquire  in  stately  habit,  with  trumpets  sounding 
almost  to  the  shaking  of  Charing  Cross,  had  it  been  now  stand- 
ing. Of  his  life-gaurd  many  are  collonels,  and  believe  it,  it's 
such  a  gaurd  as  is  hardly  to  be  parallel'd  in  the  world.  The 
Lieutenant's  colors  are  white  and  blue."  f 

The  following  passage  from  Ben  Jonson's  con- 
versations with  Drummond  will  speak  for  itself : — 

"  The  Irish  having  rob'd  Spenser's  goods,  and  burnt  his 
house  and  a  little  child  new  born,  he  and  his  wife  escaped;  and 
after,  he  died  for  lake  of  bread  in  King  street,  and  refused  20 
pieces  sent  to  him  by  my  Lord  of  Essex,  and  said  He  was 
sorrie  he  had  no  time  to  spend  them." 

In  King  Street,  Westminster,  lived  Lord  How- 
ard of  Effingham,  the  great  Lord  Admiral  against 
the  Armada  in  Queen  Elizabeth's  time.  Spenser, 
the  poet,  also  resided  in  this  street. 

As  we  emerge  from  this  obscure  street,  we  catch 

*  Mercurius  Pragmatisus,  July,  1649. 
f  Moderate  Intelligencer,         Ibid. 


?Uou«c  of  Sir  Bobert  ^ctl. 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  129 

a  glimpse  on  the  left  of  the  well  known  mansion 
of  the  great  Sir  Eobert  Peel ;  celebrated  for  its 
choice  gallery  of  paintings. 

The  name  Charing-Cross  is  believed  to  be  a 
corruption  of  ClieTe  Eeyne,  The  spot  is  said  to 
have  been  classic  since  the  days  of  Edward  I.,  who 
erected  a  cross  to  the  memory  of  his  Queen 
Eleanor,  whose  body  rested  here  on  the  journey 
from  Lincolnshire  to  the  Abbey  of  Westminster, 
where  it  received  funeral  honors. 

At  this  early  period,  Charing  was  a  rural 
hamlet,  on  the  highway  between  London  and 
Westminster,  consisting  of  no  more  than  a  dozen 
houses,  or  hovels.  The  associations  of  the  statue 
which,  in  the  following  century,  succeeded  to  the 
site  of  the  cross,  are  generally  of  a  painful  charac- 
ter; but  there  is  one  noticeable  exception.  The 
exceedingly  expressive  and  beautiful  piece  of 
sculpture,  which  represents  Charles  I.  (the  earliest 
equestrian  public  statue  in  London,  by  the  way,) 
may  be  looked  upon  as  a  h^ppy  memorial  of  one  of 
the  most  enlightened  and  munificent  patrons  of  art 
England  has  known.  This  was  cast,  in  1633,  for 
the  Earl  of  Arundel,  the  famous  collector,  and  to 
whom  Charles  is  said  to  have  been  materially  in- 
debted for  his  artistical  taste.  The  subsequent 
history  of  the  statue  is  very  curious.  During  the 
5  ' 


•i£  * 

130  MEMOKIES    OF   THE 

civil  wars  it  was  sold  to  a  brazier  in  Holbom,  of 
the  name  of  John  Kiver,  with  orders  to  break  it 
in  pieces ;  the  brazier,  however,  was  too  much  of 
a  loyalist,  or  too  much  an  admirer  of  art,  which  is 
the  more  likely,  as  the  statue  would  hardly  have 
been  sold  to  a  known  favorer  of  the  royal  cause,  or, 
which  is  likeliest  of  all,  had  too  keen  a  perception 
of  its  pecuniary  value  at  some  future  time,  to  obey 
his  orders ;  so  he  buried  it,  and  satisfied  the  offi- 
cers of  government  by  showing  them  some  broken 
pieces  of  metal.  That  our  "  worthy  brazier,"  as  he 
has  been  called,  was  not  overburdened  with  any 
very  strict  principles  of  honesty  we  know  from  an 
amusing  anecdote  related  by  M.  d'Archenholz,  who 
says  he  cast  a  vast  number  of  handles  of  knive-s 
and  forks  in  brass,  which  he  sold  as  made  of  the 
broken  statue. .  They  were  bought  with  great 
eagerness  by  both  parties — by  the  loyalists  as  a 
mark  of  affection  to  their  monarch,  and  by  the 
republicans  as  a  memorial  of  their  triumph."^  At 
the  Restoration  the  statue  was,  of  course,  restored 
too.  And,  as  a  preliminary,  a  libation  of  blood 
was  poured  forth,  as  if  to  wash  away  the  memory 
of  its  temporary  degradation.  Here,  in  the  reign 
of  Charles  II.,  were  executed  Harrison,  Scrope, 
Colonel  Jones,  Hugh  Peters,  Chaplain  of  Oliver 
*  Cunningham. 


GREAT   METROFOLK.  131 

Cromwell,  and  others  of  those  extraordinary  men, 
who,  in  welcoming  a  bloody  death,  gave  the  last 
undoubted  proofs  that  they  were  real  patriots  as 
well  as  bigots  ;  and,  to  mark  beyond  the  possibility 
of  mistake  the  thirst  for  vengeance  from  which  the 
act  sprang,  the  executioners,  inspirited  by  the  pre- 
sence of  the  king  at  a  short  distance,  and  fulfilling, 
no  doubt,  the  orders  given  to  them,  actually  revel- 
led in  cruelty,  adding  tortures  that  not  even  the 
execrable  terms  of  the  sentence  could  be  supposed 
to  include.  When  Coke  was  cut  down  and  brought 
to  be  quartered,  one  Colonel  Turner  called  to  the 
sheriff's  men,  to  bring  Mr.  Peters  to  see  what  was 
doing  ;  which  being  done,  the  executioner  came  to 
him,  and  rubbing  his  bloody  hands  together,  asked 
him,  "  how  he  liked  that  work  ?  "  The  answer  of 
the  brave  and  high-principled  man  was  simply 
that  he  was  not  at  all  terrified,  and  that  he  might 
do  his  worst.  And  when  he  was  upon  the  ladder, 
he  said  to  the  sherift*,  "  Sir,  you  have  butchered 
one  of  the  servants  of  God  before  my  eyes,  and 
have  forced  me  to  see  it,  in  order  to  terrify  and 
discourage  me,  but  God  has  permitted  it  fijr  my 
support  and  encouragement."  These  were  not  very 
attractive  reminiscences  to  be  connected  witli  any 
statue,  and  the  matter  was  still  worse  when  the 
relation  was    so  intimate    as  between   the  events 


132  MEMOKIES    OF   THE  ' 

and  tlie  individual  represented  by  the  particular 
statue  in  question.  For  the  time,  at  least,  it  ceased 
to  be  looked  upon  as  anything  but  a  party  memo- 
rial, and  it  was  treated  accordingly. 

Sir  Harry  Yane,  the  younger ;  Isaac  Barrow, 
the  divine ;  Rhodes,  the  bookseller,  resided  in 
the  immediate  vicinity. 

The  birth-place  of  Ben  Jonson  is  generally 
supposed  to  have  been  in  Hartshorn  Lane,  Char- 
ing Cross. 

In  Scotland  Yard,  Whitehall,  lived  Milton,  in 
Cromwell's  time.  Here  also  lived  Inigo  Jones  ; 
here  died  his  successor,  Sir  John  Denham,  the 
poet  of  Cooper's  Hill ;  here  lived  Sir  Christopher 
Wren  ;  and  here,  in  a  fantastic  house,  immorta- 
lized by  Swift  in  some  ludicrous  lines,  lived  Sir 
John  Yanbrugh. 

This  vicinity  was  so  called,  it  is  said,  after  the 
kings  of  Scotland  and  their  ambassadors,  who  were 
occasionally  lodged  there. 

In  Cockspur  street,  near  Pall  Mall  East,  stands 
the  equestrian  statue  of  George  III. — the  pious 
but  pertinacious  potentate  who  persisted  in  the 
coercive  taxation  of  his  American  Colonies  till  he 
lost  them.  At  the  corner  of  Suffolk-street  are  two 
societies  of  British  Painters  and  Sculptors.  The 
Royal  College  of  Physicians  is  situated  opposite  St. 


*^  GREAT    METROPOLIS.       '  133 

Martin's  Church,  which  was  erected  about  1721,  and 
has  a  beautiful  ^^ortico  which  is  an  object  of  univer- 
sal admiration.  The  interior  of  the  church  is  very 
splendid,  and  is  admirably  constructed,  both  as  to 
convenience  and  adaptation  for  sound. 

In  the  churchyard  of  St.  Martin's  the  following 
eminent  persons  have  been  buried :  Sir  John  Da- 
vys, the  poet;  Dobson,  called  the  English  Yan 
Dyck ;  Stanley,  the  editor  of  ^Eschylus ;  I^ell 
Gwynne ;  Hon.  Robert  Boyle,  the  philosopher; 
Roubiliac,  the  sculptor ;  John  Hunter,  the  surgeon  ; 
James  Smith,  one  of  the  authors  of  the  "Rejected 
Addresses."  The  register  records  the  baptism  of 
Lord  Bacon,  who  was  born,  in  1561,  in  York 
House,  in  the  Strand,  on  the  site  of  Buckingham- 
street. 

Britii^h  Institution,  Ko.  33  Pall  Mall,  establish- 
ed in  1805,  on  a  plan  formed  by  Sir  Thomas 
Bernard,  for  the  purpose  of  encouraging  British 
Artists,  and  affording  opportunities  of  exhibiting 
historical  subjects  to  a  greater  advantage  than  in 
the  rooms  of  the  Royal  Academy,  then  exhibited 
at  Somerset  House.  The  gallery  purchased  for  its 
use  was  erected  by  Alderman  Boydell,  for  the  ex- 
hibition of  paintings  for  his  edition  of  Shakspeare, 
and  it  is  well  suited  for  its  present  purpose.  Over 
the  entrance  is  a  piece  of  sculpture,  by  Banks,  re- 


134  MEMORIES   OF  THE 

presenting  Shakspeare   accompanied    by  Painting 
and  Poetry. 

The  National  Gallery,  Trafalgar  Square,  was 
erected  in  183T,  from  designs  by  Mr.  Wilkins. 
The  gallery,  which  is  nearly  five  hundred  feet  n 
length,  consists  of  a  central  portico  of  eight  Corin- 
thian columns  in  front  and  two  in  depth,  ascended 
by  steps  at  each  end  at  an  elevation  of  eighteen 
feet  from  the  ground,  and  two  wings,  each  orna- 
mented with  four  Corinthian  columns.  The  por- 
tico is  surmounted  by  a  dome,  and  the  whole 
range  of  edifice  by  a  balustrade.  The  portion 
of  the  building  to  the  right  side  of  the  portico  is 
devoted  to  the  Royal  Academy,  and  that  to  the 
left  to  the  National  Gallery,  the  two  being  con- 
nected by  the  gr^nd  staircase  and  vestibule,  divid- 
ing it  into  two  equal  parts.  The  Gallery  originated 
in  the  purchase  by  Government,  in  1824,  of  Mr. 
Angerstein's  collection  of  thirty-eight  pictures  for 
£57,000.  In  1826,  Sir  George  Beaumont  made  a 
formal  gift  of  sixteen  pictures,  valued  at  the  time  at 
7500  guineas.  Important  bequests  by  the  Pev.  W. 
Holwell  Carr,  Lord  Farnborough  and  others,  and 
additional  purchases  by  Government,  have  brought 
the  collection,  in  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
to  two  hundred  and  twenty-eight  pictures,  indepen- 
dently of  Vernon's  noble  gift  of  one  hundred  and 


^^  GREAT    METROPOLIS.  135 

sixty  works  of  the  English  school.  Paintings  by 
most  of  the  great  names  in  art  grace  this  superb 
collection. 

This  celebrated  donation  is  placed  in  a  suite 
of  rooms  in  Marlborough  House,  Pall  Mall. 
These  pictures,  which  are  exclusively  of  the  Eng- 
lish school,  are  to  be  hereafter  assigned  a  suitable 
position  in  some  of  the  apartments  of  the  National 
Gallery.  By  the  way,  a  new  Gallery  of  Art  is  being 
projected.     Hyde  Park  is  suggested  as  its  locale. 

From  Morley's  Hotel,  Trafalgar  Square,  may 
be  seen  the  Nelson  Monument,  the  statues,  foun- 
tains, the  fine  portico  of  the  National  Gallery,  St. 
Martin's  Church,  Northumberland  House,  etc. 

The  north  side  of  the  entrance  to  the  Strand 
lay  open  to  the  fields,  to  St.  Martin's-in-the-Fields, 
St.  Giles's-in-the-Fields,  and  Covent  Garden,  as 
late  as  the  reign  of  Charles  I. 

Northumberland  House,  Charing  Cross,  is  one 
of  the  most  magnificent  town  mansions  of  the 
nobility,  and  is  a  fine  specimen  of  the  architecture 
of  the  time  of  James  I. ;  it  was  built  by  Bernard 
Jansen,  a  Flemish  architect.  The  lion  on  the  central 
parapet  is  the  crest  of  the  Percies.  This  magnificent 
edifice  contains  one  hundred  and  fifty  apartments, 
and  a  spacious  gallery  of  rare  paintings.  All  that  is 
old  of  the  present  building  is  the  portal  towards  the 


136  MEMOKIES    OF   THE 

Strand  ;  but  even  of  this  there  is  a  good  deal  that 
is  new.  The  house  is  massively  furnished  and  in 
good  taste.  The  staircase  is  stately;  the  Pompeian 
room  most  elegant,  and  the  state  Drawing-room, 
with  its  ten  lights  to  the  east,  and  its  noble  copies 
after  Raj)hael,  very  magnificent — a  room,  it  is  said, 
not  to  be  matched  in  London.  Many  of  the  fire- 
places, fenders,  and  fire-irons  are  of  silver.  The 
large  Sevres  vase  in  the  centre  of  the  great  room 
was  presented  by  Charles  X.,  at  his  coronation  in 
1825,  to  the  Duke  of  I^orthumberland,  then  repre- 
sentative of  Great  Britain  at  the  French  court. 

We  now  leave  ]^orthumberland  House,  and 
wend  our  course  eastward,  through  what  old  Stowe 
calls  "  a  way  or  street  of  shops,  theatres  and  in- 
surance offices," — the  Strand.  The  thoroughfare  is 
singularly  rich  in  memories  of  the  past.  This 
was,  in  Elizabethan  days,  a  suburban  and  somewhat 
aristocratic  retreat.  "  Anciently,"  says  Selden, 
"  the  noblemen  lay  within  the  city  for  safety  and 
security,  but  the  Bishops'  houses  were  by  the 
water  side,  because  they  were  sacred  persons  whom 
nobody  would  hurt."  As  many  as  nine  of  these 
priestly  dignitaries  possessed  "  inns  "  or  "  hostels  " 
on  the  Strand,  near  the  banks  of  the  river,  at 
the  time  of  the  Keformation.  Passing  Hunger- 
ford-Market    we   a2:>proach    the  site   of  old   York 


GBEAT   METROPOLIS.  137 

House :  the  spot  is  now  known  by  the  name 
of  York-jDuildings.  In  1698  Peter  the  Great 
lived  "in  a  large  house  at  the  bottom  of  York- 
buildings  :"  and  1708  the  Earl  of  Oxford.  Samuel 
Pepys,  brother  of  the  historian,  also  resided  here. 
The  great  Lord  Bacon,  the  son  of  the  Archbishop 
of  York,  was  born  at  this  house.  York  House  and 
estate  were  assured  by  Act  of  Parliament,  in  1 624, 
to  the  Crown,  and  subsequently  granted  to  the 
Duke  of  Buckingham.  The  Duke  employed  Inigo 
Jones  to  rebuild  a  great  part  of  it  in  a  style  of 
much  magnificence.  The  Duke  lived  here  in  the 
most  expensive  manner,  till  his  assassination  by 
Felton,  when  it  became  the  property  of  his  son. 
The  York  Stairs,  or  Water  Gate,  at  the  bottom  of 
Buckingham-street,  will  give  some  idea  of  the 
beauty  of  the  building,  of  which  this  is  now  the 
sole  remnant.  This  gate  has  been  universally  ad- 
mired, and  pronounced  to  be  the  most  perfect 
piece  of  building  that  does  honor  to  the  name  of 
Inigo  Jones.  It  is  planned  in  so  exquisite  a 
taste,  formed  of  such  equal  and  harmonious  parts, 
and  adorned  with  such  appropriate  decorations, 
that  nothing  seems  to  be  required. 

Here  resided  Sir  Harry  Yane,    Lilly  the   as- 
trologer, and   Jacob  Tonson   and   Andrew  Millar, 

the  booksellers  and  publishers. 
5* 


138  MEMORIES    OF    THE 

Craven-street,  leading  towards  the  river,  merits 
honorable  mention  as  having  been  thei  abode  of 
Benjamin  Franklin  ;  he  dwelt  at  the  house  JSTo.  7 
in  this  street.  James  Smith,  one  of  the  authors 
of  the  "Rejected  Adresses,"  resided  in  this 
street,  at  l^o.  27.  He  died  here  in  1839.  King 
William-street  and  the  Lowther  Arcade,  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Strand,  deserve  a  passing  no- 
tice  as  improved  specimens  of  street  architecure. 

At  the  south-west  corner  of  Korfolk-street  re- 
sided the  celebrated  William  Penn.  At  twenty 
years  of  age  he  presented  himself  to  his  astonished 
parent,  the  Admiral,  in  Quaker  guise,  and  saluted 
him  :  "  Friend  Penn,  how  dost  thee  do  ?  "  Much 
contention  ensued  concerning  the  broad-brim.  In 
this  house  afterwards  lived  another  descendant  of 
the  Quakers, — the  renowned  antiquary  Dr.  Birch. 
In  the  same  street  also  dwelt  for  more  than  thirty 
years  Dr.  Brocklesby,  the  friend  and  physician  of 
Johnson. 

Opposite  King  "William-street  formerly  stood 
Denham  House.  Here  many  noble  personages 
lived  ;  among  the  number  the  hapless  Lady  Jane 
Grey  and  Sir  Walter  Raleigh.  In  "  Aubrey's 
Letters "  may  be  found  the  following  description 
of  Sir  Walter's  apartments  : 

"  After  he  came  to  his  greatnes  he  lived  there,  or  in  some 


GREAT   METKOPOLIS-  139 

apartments  of  it.  I  well  remember  liis  study,  which  was  on  a 
little  turret,  that  looked  into  and  over  the  Thames,  and  had  the 
prospect,  which  is  as  pleasant,  perhaps,  as  any  in  the  world, 
and  which  not  only  refreshes  the  eye-sight,  but  cheers  the 
spirits,  and  (to  speak  ray  mind,)  I  believe  enlarges  an  ingenious 
man's  thoughts." 

The  present  range  of  buildings  called  the 
Adelphi  now  occupies  the  site  of  Denham  House. 
When  the  Adelphi  buildings  were  begun  in  1768, 
the  Court  and  City  were  in  direct  opposition,  arid 
the  citizens  were  glad,  in  any  little  way  in  their 
power,  to  show  their  hostility  to  the  Court.  The 
Brothers  Adam  were  patronized  by  the  King,  and 
having  in  their  Adelphi  buildings  encroached,  it 
was  thought,  too  far  upon  the  Thames,  and  thus 
interfered  with  the  rights  of  the  Lord  Mayor  as 
Conservator  of  the  river,  the  citizens  applied  to 
Parliament  for  protection.  The  feeling  was  in 
favor  of  the  Court  and  of  the  new  improvements, 
and  the  citizens  lost  their  cause. 

David  Garrick  resided,  in  great  style,  in 
the  centre  house,  No.  5,  of  Adelphi-terrace, 
from  1772  till  his  death,  in  1779.  In  Osborne's 
Hotel,  in  John  Street,  Adelphi,  the  King  of  the 
Sandwich  Islands  resided  while  on  a  visit  to  the 
country,  in  the  reign  of  George  lY.  The  popular 
song,  "  The  King  of  the  Cannibal  Islands,"  was 
written  at  this  time.     It  was  on  one  occasion  when 


140  MEMOKIES    OF   THE 

walking  along  Adelplii-terrace  that  Johnson,  in 
the  last  year  of  his  life,  accompanied  by  his  faith- 
ful Boswell,  and  in  reply  to  the  remark  that 
they  had  lost  two  friends  who  once  lived  there — 
Beauclerk  and  Garrick  tenderly  replied,  "  Ay, 
Sir,  and  two  such  friends  as  cannot  be  supplied." 

Salisbury-street  stands  on  the  site  of  Salisbury 
House,  the  residence  of  Sir  Robert  Cecil,  the 
minister  of  Elizabeth.  The  famous  astrological 
almanack-maker.  Partridge,  facetiously  referred 
to  by  Swift  under  the  name  of  Bickerstaff,  lived  in 
this  street.  Partridge,  in  a  great  rage,  once  knock- 
ed a  man  down,  opposite  his  own  door,  for  crying 
about  the  town  an  account  of  his  death.  The  re- 
port, he  assured  every  one,  was  false,  and  he  convinc- 
ed the  fabricator  of  it  with  most  striking  eifect ; 
but  it  proved  fatal  to  his  almanack. 

A  little  beyond  Salisbury-street  lodged  old 
Thomas  Parr  when  he  came  to  London  to  be  ex- 
hibited as  a  rare  specimen  of  longevity  to  Charles  I. 

A  little  to  the  east,  on  the  river  side  of  the 
Strand,  stood  the  ancient  palace  of  the  Savoy,  one 
of  the  most  imposing  of  the  old  buildings  on  the 
banks  of  the  Thames.  The  Chapel  attached  to  it 
is  all  that  remains  to  indicate  the  spot. 

The  original  j)alace  was  built  in  the  Strand, 
near  the  Thames,  bv  the  Earl  of  Savov  and  Pich- 


GREAT   METKOPOLIS.  141 

mond,  uncle  of  Queen  Eleanor,  who  was  the  wife 
of  Henrj  III.  King  John  of  France  was  con- 
fined in  the  Savoy  in  the  year  1356,  after  the 
battle  of  Poictiers.  Twenty-five  years  after  this, 
it  was  destroyed  by  Wat  Tyler  and  his  fellow 
rebels,  in  1381.  It  was  afterwards  rebuilt  and  en- 
dowed by  King  Henry  YII.  as  a  hospital  for 
one  hundred  poor  people.  Fleetwood  describes 
the  Savoy  in  1581  as  "  the  chief  nurserie  of  evil 
people,  rogues  and  masterless  men."  King 
Charles  I.  established   a   French   church   there. 

In  1666  it  was  used  as  a  hospital  for  the 
sick  and  wounded,  in  the  great  Dutch  War. 

Strype  says,  in  1750,  "  this  Savoy  House 
is  now  in  a  ruinous  condition.  In  the  midst 
of  its  buildings  is  a  very  spacious  hall, '  the 
walls  three  feet  thick,  of  stone  without  and  stone 
and  brick  within."  The  Savoy  was  once  a  house 
of  refuge  for  j^oor  debtors  when  pursued  by  their 
creditors.  A  paragraph  in  the  London  Postman 
of  1696,  says,  "  a  person  going  into  the  Savoy  to 
collect  a  debt  due  him  was  seized  by  the  inhabi- 
tants, and  according  to  usual  custom^  dipped  in  tar 
and  rolled  in  feathers  ;"  after  this  novel  adminis- 
tration of  justice,  the  unlucky  creditor  who  had 
the  temerity  to  go  in  quest  of  his  debtor  was  put 
into  a  wheel-barrow  and  trundled  into  the  Strand, 


142  MEMORIES    OF    THE 

where  he  was  dumped  upon  the  pavement.  This 
was  paying  a  premium  to  roguery  with  a  ven- 
geance. 

The  meetings  at  the  Restoration  of  Charles  II. 
of  the  commissioners  for  the  revision  of  the  Litur- 
gy took  place  in  the  Savoy,  twelve  bishops  ap- 
pearing for  the  Established  Church,  and  Calamy, 
Baxter,  Reynolds,  and  others,  for  the  Presbyte- 
rians. This  was  called  "  TJie  Savoy  Conferences'^ 
and  under  that  name  has  become  matter  of  English 
history.  Fuller,  author  of  "The  English  "Worthies," 
was  at  this  time  lecturer  at  the  Savoy,  and  Cowley, 
the  poet,  a  candidate  at  Court  for  the  office  of  mas- 
ter. 

Tlie  next  street  we  meet  on  our  journey  east- 
ward is  Wellington-street,  which  leads  to  Waterloo 
Bridge.  Waterloo  Bridge,  one  of  the  noblest 
of  the  seven  or  eight  that  breast  what  Spencer 
calls  "  the  silver-streaming  Thames,"  was  built  in 
1817.  It  is  of  granite,  and  has  nine  semi-elliptical 
arches,  each  120  feet  span  ;  the  entire  length  of 
the  bridge  from  the  ends  of  the  abutments  is  1380 
feet.  The  bridge  is  on  a  level  with  the  Strand, 
and  of  one  uniform  level  throughout.  It  affords 
a  noble  view  of  Somerset-House.  The  toll  charg- 
ed is  a  halfpenny  each  person  each  way,  and  the  re- 
ceipts from  foot-passengers  in  a  half-year  of  1850 


GREAT    METROPOLIS.  143 

was  £4:616  17s.  lid.,  received  from  2,244,910  per- 
sons, so  that  in  only  six  months  the  population  of 
London  may  be  said  to  pay  for  passing  over. 
Canova  is  said  to  have  declared  it  to  be  the  finest 
work  of  modern  times  :  and  that  "  it  was  worth  a 
visit  from  the  remotest  corner  of  the  earth."  M. 
Dupin  characterised  it  as  "  a  colossal  monument 
worthy  of  Sesostris  and   the  Caesars." 

The  poets  Denham  and  Pope  have  sung  the 
praises  of  the  Thames,  and  "Wordsworth's  famous 
sonnet,  composed  upon  one  of  its  bridges,  the 
reader  perchance  may  be  curious  to  see.  It  is  as 
follows  : 

"  Earth  has  not  anything  to  show  more  fair: — 
Dull  would  he  be  of  soul  who  could  pass  by 
A  sight  so  touching  in  its  mnjesty : 
This  city  now  doth  like  a  garment  wear 
The  beauty  of  the  morning; — silent,  bare, 
Ships,  towers,  domes,  theatres  and  temples  lie 
Open  unto  the  fields  and  to  the  sky ; 
All  bright  and  glittering  in  the  smokeless  air. 
Never  did  sun  more  beautifully  steep 
In  his  first  splendor,  valley,  rock  or  hill, 
Ne'er  saw,  ne'er  felt,  a  calm  so  deep. 
The  river  glideth  at  his  own  sweet  will ; 
Dear  God  !  the  very  houses  seem  asleep ; 
And  all  that  mighty  host  is  lying  still !" 

Facing  Wellington-street  formerly  stood  "  Old 
Exeter  'Change,"  Burleigh-street  now  occupies  its 


144  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

site.  It  was  in  an  upper  room  of  Exeter  'Change 
that  the  mortal  remains  of  the  poet  Gay  lay  in  state. 
The  house  remained  in  possession  of  the  Crown 
until  Queen  Elizabeth  granted  it  to  Sir  William 
Cecil,  Lord  Treasurer,  who  rebuilt  it,  when  it  was 
called  Burleigh  House.  Here  the  haughty  Queen 
once  visited  Lord  Burleigh. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  Strand  formerly 
stood  Exeter  House,  the  residence  of  the  great  Lord 
Burleigh.  A  portion  of  the  building  was  standing 
till  within  the  past  twenty  years.  It  was  known  as 
the  Old  Exeter  'Change,  and  used  as  a  menagerie. 
Exeter  Hall,  a  spacious  building  used  for  concerts 
and  religious  meetings,  has  been  erected  upon  a 
portion  of  this  site.  The  Hall  is  a  noble  apartment 
measuring  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  feet  in  length 
by  nearly  eighty  in  width ;  it  has  the  most  mag- 
nificent organ  in  London. 


GREAT  METROPOLIS.  14-5 


CHAPTER     VI 


Bow-street — Covent  Garden — Anecdote  of  Dryden  and  Tonson — St.  Paul's 
Church,  Covent  Garden — The  Garrick  Club— Will's  Coffee  House  and 
others — Somerset  House — King's  College — St.  Clement  Dane's — Lin- 
coln's Inn  Square— Lincoln's  Inn  Fields — Execution  of  Lord  William 
Russell — The  Soane  Museum — Franklin's  Printing  Office — Gray's  Inn — 
Temple  Bar — Ancient  Custom  of  Closing  the  Gates — Booksellers  of 
early  Times — Dr.  Johnson's  Residences— Child's  Banking  House. 


10  THICKLY   clustered   are   the   his- 

'torical  memories  of  this  part   of   the 

city,  that  we  are  puzzled  which  route 

to  prefer ;  our  course  for  a  while  must 

therefore  be  a  little  out  of  the  direct  line. 

To  the  north  of  the  Strand,  and  not  far 
distant,  is  Bow-street,  which,  according  to 
Strype,  was  so  named  from  "  its  running  in 
shape  of  a  bent  bow."  Modern  improvements,  how- 
ever, have  deprived  it  of  this  characteristic  feature. 
Bow-street  is  famous  as  having  been  the  locale  of 
Fielding,  the  novelist ;  Johnson  lived  in  this  street 
for  a  short  time  ;  and  Waller,  the  poet,  also  resid- 
ed here  when  he  wrote  his  famous  panegyric  upon 
Cronnvell;  it  was  in  this  same  street,  also,  that  Sir 


146  MEMORIES    OF    THE 

Koger  de  Coverlej,  according  to  tlie  Spectator,  liv- 
ed. Here,  likewise,  in  1661,  was  born  the  celebrat- 
ed statesman,  the  Earl  of  Oxford  ;  Wjcherly,  the 
dramatist ;  Gibbons,  the  sculptor ;  and  the  Earl 
of  Dorset. 

Covent  Garden,  which  is  in  the  immediate  vici- 
nity, took  its  name  from  having  been  an  enclosed 
garden  attached  to  the  Convent  belonging  to  the  Ab- 
bots of  Westminster,  in  the  days  of  the  Protector 
Somerset.  The  estate  was  afterwards  transferred  to 
the  Bedford  family.  The  Bedford  Coffee  House, 
under  the  Piazza,  was  frequented  by  Garrick, 
Foote,  Murphy,  and  others. 

Jacob  Tonson,  the  bookseller,  had  a  house  in 
Bow-street,  in  which  he  drove  some  of  his  hardest 
bargains  with  Dryden.  The  bookseller  was  a  Whig, 
the  poet  a  Tory,  and  it  suited  the  pecuniary  inte- 
rests of  the  former  that  Dryden's  forthcoming  trans- 
lation of  Yirgil  should  be  dedicated  to  King  Wil- 
liam. The  author  would  not  consent,  although 
Tonson,  in  furtherance  of  his  own  views,  had  di- 
rected the  engraver  employed  upon  the  illustra- 
tions of  the  work,  "  to  aggravate,"  as  Sir  Walter 
Scott  pleasantly  expresses  it,  "  the  nose  of  ^neas 
in  the  plates  into  a  sufficient  resemblance  to  the 
hooked  promontory  on  the  king's  countenance." 
Dryden    still    held   out,    for  though   in   want   of 


GKEAT    METROPOLIS.  149 

money  lie  had  a  conscience.  Tonson  considering, 
like  other  tradesmen,  that  this  was  very  presump- 
tuous in  a  man  who  lacked  ten  guineas,  stopped  the 
supplies  to  bring  him  to  reason.  Still  the  poet  re- 
mained conscientious  ;  and,  failing  to  induce  Ton- 
son  to  accommodate  him  by  fair  means  with  the 
money  he  needed,  he  sent  him  the  following  verses 
to  his  house  in  Bow-street,  as  a  poetical  portrait  of 
a  shabby  bookseller  : — 

"  With  leering  looks,  bull-faced,  and  freckled  fair, 
With  two  left  legs  and  Judas-colored  hair. 
And  frouzy  pores  that  taint  the  ambient  air." 

"  And  tell  the  dog,  when  you  deliver  it,"  said 
Dryden  to  his  messenger,  "that  the  man  who  wrote 
these  lines  can  write  more ! "  The  money  was 
paid  immediately. 

St.  Paul's  Church,  Covent  Garden,  was  in  its 
day  pronounced  a  marvel  of  architectural  skill,  but 
its  claim  to  this  distinction  has  long  since  been  deni- 
ed. Here  repose  the  ashes  of  several  distinguished 
individuals,  Sir  Henry  Herbert ;  Armstrong,  the 
poet ;  Wycherley,  the  dramatist ;  Butler,  the  author 
of  "  Hudibras ;"  Sir  Peter  Lely,  the  painter ; 
Macklin,  the  comedian  ;  and  Dr.  Walcot.  In  King- 
street,  Covent  Garden,  at  ^o.  35,  the  Garrick  Club 
used  to  hold  its  meetings ;  and  in  a  dark  obscure 
alley,  named  Rose-street,  lived  Samuel  Butler,  and 


150  MEMORIES    OF    THE 

here  i  is  believed  lie  breathed  his  last.  Sheridan 
lived  in  Bedford  Street, -leading  to  the  Strand  ; 
here  also  resided  the  Earl  of  Chesterfield. 

One  of  the  most  celebrated  rendezvous  of  the 
literati  of  the  last  century  was  Will's  Coifee-house, 
]^o.  23,  on  the  north  side  of  Great  Eussell-street, 
Covent  Garden,  at  the  end  of  Bow-street.  This 
was  the  favorite  resort  of  Dryden,  who  had  here 
his  own  chair,  in  winter  by  the  fire-side,  in  sum- 
mer in  the  balcony  ;  the  company  met  in  the  first 
floor,  and  there  smoked  ;  and  the  young  beaux  and 
wits  were  sometimes  honored  with  a  pinch  out  of 
Dryden's  snufiT-box.  Will's  was  the  resort  of  men 
of  genius  till  1710.  At  l^o,  8  Great  Russell- 
street,  Davis  the  bookseller  lived.  It  was  here 
that  Johnson,  who  made  frequent  visits  to  this 
worthy  bibliopole,  was  first  introduced  to  Boswell. 

Tom's,  'No.  17.,  Great  Russell-street,  had  nearly 
YOO  subscribers,  at  a  guinea  a-head,  from  1764  to 
1768,  and  had  its  card,  conversation,  and  cofifee- 
rooms,  where  assembled  Johnson,  Garrick,  Murphy, 
Goldsmith,  Reynolds,  Foote,  and  other  celebri- 
ties :  the  tables  and  books  of  the  club  are,  we 
believe,  yet  preserved  in  the  house.  Button's,  "  over 
against "  Tom's,  was  the  receiving  house  for  con- 
tributions to  the  "  Guardian,"  in  a  lion-head  box,  the 
aperture  for  which  remains  in  the  wall  to  mark  the 


GREAT    METROPOLIS.  151 

place.  Button  had  been  servant  to  Lady  Warwick, 
whom  Addison  married;  and  the  house  was  fre- 
quented by  Pope,  Steele,  Swift,  Arbuthnot,  and 
Addison.  The  lion's  head  for  a  letter-box,  the 
"  best  head  in  England,"  was  set  up  in  imitation 
of  the  celebrated  lion  at  Venice :  it  was  removed 
from  Button's  to  the  Shakspeare's  Head,  under  the 
Aroade  in  Covent  Garden  ;  and,  in  1751,  was  placed 
in  the  Bedford,  next  door.  In  York-street,  Covent 
Garden,  may  be  seen  the  celebrated  book-establish- 
ment of  Henry  G.  Bohn,  who  is  supposed  to  pos- 
sess the  largest  collection  of  costly  illustrated  works 
in  England. 

Eeturhing  to  the  Strand  we  approach  Somerset 
House,  nearly  opposite  which  is  Drury  Court,  for- 
merly Little  Drury-lane,  and  once  the  only  avenue 
to  the  theatre.  This  black  and  dirty  passage  in 
former  times  conducted  to  a  road  by  the  side  of 
Craven  House,  and  other  princely  mansions,  to  St. 
Giles's-in-the-Fields  and  the  country.  The  road  was 
lined  by  hedges,  and  partially  overshadowed  by 
trees.  A  little  beyond  this  court  is  Catherine-street, 
which  takes  its  name  from  Catherine  of  Braganza, 
the  queen  of  Charles  H.  Here,  in  the  reign  of 
Edward  YL,  a  stream  of  water  ran  to  the  Thames, 
over  which  was  a  bridge,  called  Strand  Bridge. 
Brydges-street,  which  is  a  continuation  of  Cathe- 


152  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

rine-street,    built   about   163T,    was    named   after 
George  Brjdges  Lord  Chandos. 

Somerset  House  occupies  the  site  of  a  princely 
mansion,  built  by  Somerset,  the  Protector,  brother 
of  Lady  Jane  Seymour.  He  had  not  long  occupied 
it,  when  he  was  taken  to  the  scaffold :  it  afterwards 
became  the  property  of  the  Crown,  and  was  a 
royal  residence  during  the  reigns  of  Elizabeth  and 
Charles  H.  The  present  building  is  in  the  form  of 
a  quadrangle  :  it  was  completed  in  1786.  As  seen 
from  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  or  from  the 
adjacent  bridges,  the  appearance  of  this  vast  range 
of  buildings  is  very  imposing :  it  presents,  indeed, 
one  of  the  noblest  fagades  in  London.  There  are 
no  less  than  3,600  windows  in  Somerset  House, 
a  sufficient  proof  of  its  vast  magnitude.  There  are 
about  nine  hundred  government  officials  regularly 
employed  in  the  several  departments  of  the  Stamp 
Office,  Excise,  Taxes,  Revenue,  etc.  The  Strand 
front  is  devoted  to  several  learned  societies  and 
schools  of  art.  Under  the  vestibule  is  a  fine  bust 
of  Sir  Isaac  IS'ewton.  Herschell,  Watt,  Davy, 
Hall  am,  Reynolds,  Wollaston,  Walpole  and  others 
distinguished  in  arts  and  letters,  have  convened 
within  these  apartments  ;  it  was  in  the  rooms  of  the 
Royal  Academy  that  the  last  and  best  of  Reynolds's 
discourses  were  delivered.     Many  notable  person- 


Somerset  |Llousr. 


GREAT    METROPOLIS.  155 

ages  figure  historically  in  the  records  of  old  Somer- 
set House :  but  we  cannot  particularize,  saving 
that  Inigo  Jones  breathed  his  last  in  some  apart- 
ment of  the  building,  and  that  the  body  of  Crom- 
well was  laid  in  state  in  the  great  hall,  his  escut- 
cheon being  then  placed  over  the  entrance  gate. 

King's  College,  a  little  to  the  eastward,  was  built 
in  1831.  The  writer  was  present  on  the  occasion 
of  its  opening,  when  Dr.  Lardner  delivered  his  in- 
augural address  on  natural  philosophy.  He  exhi- 
bited his  splendid  new  apparatus,  and  charmed  his 
audience  with  one  of  the  most  masterly  discourses 
on  elementary  science  ever  pronounced.  This 
noble  edifice  covers  an  extensive  area  and  is  ap- 
proached through  a  semi- circular  archway  from 
the  Strand.  The  college  measures  three  hundred 
and  four  feet  in  length ;  in  the  centre  is  a  spa- 
cious chapel,  beneath  which  is  a  hall  for  exa- 
mination and  lecture  rooms,  library  and  museum. 

Pursuing  our  way  eastward  St.  Cletnent  Dane's 
is  the  next  object  worthy  of  note.  It  stands  in  the 
centre  of  the  street,  and  is  rather  an  imposing  look- 
ing structure.  This  church  is  so  styled,  it  is  sup- 
posed, in  consequence  of  a  massacre  of  the  Danes, 
which  took  place  in  this  vicinity ;  or  because  Ha- 
rold Harefoot  was  buried  there.  It  was  built  by 
Alfred  the  Great.    The  name  St  Clement  probably 


156  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

took  its  rise  from  Pope  Clement  III.,  the  friend  of 
the  Templars,  to  whom  the  church  belonged.  It 
was  rebuilt  under  the  direction  of  Sir  Christopher 
Wren.  Dr.  Johnson  used  to  attend  Divine  Service 
at  this  church,  and  there  has  recently  been  a  tablet 
to  this  effect  over  the  pew  he  used  to  occupy.  The 
chimes  may  still  be  heard  at  midnight,  as  Falstaff 
describes  having  heard  them  with  Justice  Shallow. 

Nathaniel  Lee,  the  dramatist,  is  buried  in  the 
churchyard  of  St.  Clement's.  Here  also  repose  the 
remains  of  Joe  Miller,  whose  name  has  been  so 
long  a  byeword  for  bad  jokes. 

Lincoln's  Inn  Square,  which  is  approached 
through  Portugal-street,  dates  back  to  the  age  of 
Elizabeth.  On  the  south  side  of  the  Square  lived 
many  eminent  jurists  ;  Erskine,  Mansfield,  Cam- 
den and  others.  The  High  Court  of  Chancery  is 
close  by,  where  the  judicial  wisdom,  and  profound 
erudition  of  Chancellors  Guildford,  Thurlow,  Eldon, 
Lyndhurst  and  Brougham,  astounded  and  delight- 
ed the  legal  profession.  We  well  remember  drop- 
ping in  here  occasionally  to  listen  to  the  eloquence 
of  Brougham,  and  how  we  were  amused  with  the  lu- 
dicrous exhibition  of  his  Lordship's  nose,  as  it  ner- 
vously worked  when  in  the  heat  of  argument.  The 
Chapel  adjoining  has  nothing  very  remarkable  save 
the  record  of  an  honest  lawyer.     His  name  was  Sir 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  157 

John  Strange,  and  the  inscription  said  to  have  been 
on  his  monument  as  follows  : 

"  Here  lies  an  honest  lawyer — that  is  Strange  !  " 

The  large  house  at  the  north-west  corner  of  Lin- 
coln's Inn  Fields  is  said  to  have  been  where  Ben 
Jonson  once  worked  as  a  bricklayer,  with  a  trowel 
in  one  hand  and  a  Homer  in  the  other.  The  story, 
however,  savors  more  of  fable  than  fact.  This 
mansion  was  built  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth, 
for  the  Duke  of  N^ewcastle. 

Lincoln's  Inn  boasts  of  the  following  eminent 
students  : — Sir  Thomas  More ;  Lord  Keeper  Eger- 
ton  ;  Dr.  Donne  ;  Oliver  Cromwell ;  Sir  Matthew 
Hale  ;  Sir  John  Denham ;  Lords  Mansfield  and 
Erskine  ;  Lyndhurst,  and  Brougham. 

Lincoln's  Inn  Fields  was  the  memorable  site  of 
the  execution  of  the  noble  patriot  Lord  William 
Russell.  On  his  way  from  IS'ewgate,  turning  into 
Little  Queen  Street,  it  is  said  he  shed  tears  at  the 
remembrance  of  his  heroic  wife,  and  remarked  to 
the  Dean  of  Canterbury,  "  I  have  often  turned  to 
the  other  hand  (towards  his  own  house)  with  great 
comfort,  but  now  I  turn  to  this  with  greater." 
Tillotson  accompanied  him  in  the  coach  to  the  fatal 
scaffold  ;  the  details  of  his  execution  are  among  the 
sad  recitals  of  English  history. 
6 


158  MEMORIES    OF   THE 

On  the  north  side  of  Lincohi's  Inn  Fields  is  the 
house  of  Sir  John  Soane,  the  architect  of  the  Bank 
of  England.  The  Soane  Museum  contains  many 
curiosities,  among  them  the  Sarcophagus,  discover- 
ed hj  Belzoni  in  1816,  in  a  tomb  in  Egyyt.  It  is 
formed  of  one  single  piece  of  alabaster  more  than 
nine  feet  long,  covered  with  hieroglyphics.  When 
a  lamp  is  placed  within  it  it  becomes  transparent, 
although  nearly  three  inches  thick.  On  the  interior 
of  the  bottom  is  a  full-length  figure,  representing  the 
Egyptian  Isis,  the  guardian  of  the  dead.  It  was 
purchased  by  Soane  for  £2000.  Sir  Gardner  Wil~ 
kinson  considers  that  it  is  a  cenotaph  rather  than  a 
sarcophagus,  and  the  name  inscribed  to  be  that  of 
Osiris,  father  of  Ramases  the  Great. 

Here  also  may  be  seen  the  first  four  editions  in 
folio  of  Shakspeare  :  and  a  copy  of .  Pennant's  Lon- 
don, profusely  illustrated,  which  cost  £650. 

Duke-street,  leading  out  of  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields, 
will  be  especially  interesting  to  the  American  tou- 
rist as  the  scene  of  the  early  career  of  Benjamin 
Franklin.  It  was  here  he  worked  as  a  journeyman 
printer  to  the  close  of  his  stay  in  England.  The 
reader  will  well  remember  his  own  relation  of  the 
frugal  meal  and  humble  apartment  which  content- 
ed him  in  his  early  life. 

Forty  years  afterwards,  when  the  statesman  and 


SEfmpU  33ar. 


GREAT    METROPOLIS.  161 

philosopher  went  on  a  mission  to  England,  he  did 
not  forget  to  pay  a  visit  to  his  old  office.  His 
printing  press,  it  will  be  remembered,  has  been 
brought  to  this  country,  and  is  in  safe  keeping,  in 
his  native  city,  as  a  relic. 

In  Gray's  Inn  Lane  once  lived  the  two  distin- 
guished personages,  Haraj)den  and  Pym. 

The  hall  of  Gray's  Inn  was  built  in  1560. 
Among  other  eminent  students  were  Edward  Hall, 
the  chronicler ;  George  Gascoigne,  the  poet ;  the 
great  Lord  Burleigh  ;  Lord  Bacon  ;  Bradshaw,  who 
sat  as  president  at  the  trial  of  Charles  I. ;  and  Jo- 
seph Ritson,  the  antiquary. 

"Wending  our  devious  way  down  Chancery-lane, 
a  street  that  links  together  several  "  Inns  of  Court," 
and  which  is  consequently  redolent  of  the  bag- wigs 
and  black  gowns  of  barristers,  we  at  length  reach 
Temple  Bar.  This  picturesque-looking  gate  occu- 
pies the  site  of  the  ancient  City  boundary  to  the 
west.     It  was  built  by  Wren,  in  the  year  1670. 

On  the  east  side,  in  niches,  are  the  statues  of 
Queen  Elizabeth  and  King  James  I.,  and  on  the 
west  side  those  of  Charles  I.  and  Charles  II.  It 
derives  its  name  from  its  contiguity  to  the  Temple. 
On  the  tops  of  Temple  Bar  there  used  to  be  display- 
ed the  unsightly  exhibition  of  traitors'  heads.  Wal- 
pole,  in  one  of  his  letters,  dated  August  16th,  1746, 


162  MEMORIES    OF   THE 

says — "  I  have  been  this  morning  at  the  Tower, 
and  passed  under  the  new  heads  at  Temple  Bar, 
where  people  make  a  trade  of  letting  spying-glasses 
at  a  halfpenny  a  look."  There  is  an  ancient  and 
absurd  custom  connected  with  Temple  Bar  which 
may  not  be  known  generally.  The  gates  are  in- 
variably closed  by  the  city  authorities  whenever 
the  sovereign  has  occasion  to  enter  the  city,  and  at 
no  other  time.  The  visit  of  the  sovereign  is,  indeed, 
a  rare  occurrence,  confined  to  a  thanksgiving  in 
St.  Paul's  for  some  important  victory,  or  the  open- 
ing of  a  public  building  like  the  I*^ew  Eoyal  Ex- 
change. A  herald  sounds  a  trumpet  before  the 
gate — another  herald  knocks — a  parley  ensues — the 
gates  are  then  thrown  open,  and  the  Lord  Mayor 
for  the  time  being  makes  over  the  sword  of  the  city 
to  the  sovereign,  who  graciously  returns  it.  Stow 
describes  a  scene  like  this,  when  Queen  Elizabeth 
was  on  her  way  to  St.  Paul's  to  return  thanks  for 
the  defeat  of  the  Armada.  "  Over  the  gate  of 
Temple  Bar  were  placed  the  waites  of  the  citie  : 
and  at  the  same  bar  the  Lord  Mayor  and  his  bre- 
thren the  Aldermen,  in  scarlet,  received  and  wel- 
comed her  Majesty  to  her  City  and  Chamber,  deli- 
vering to  her  hands  the  sceptre  [sword],  which 
after  certain  speeches  had,  her  Highness  redeliver- 
ed to  the  Mayor,  and  he  again  taking  his  horse, 


GREAT    METROPOLIS.  163 

bare  the  same  before  her."  When  Cromwell  and 
the  Parliament  dined  in  the  city  in  state,  on  the 
17th  of  June,  1849,  the  same  ceremony  was  ob- 
served ;  "  the  Mayor  delivering  up  the  sword  to  the 
speaker,"  says  Whitelocke,  "  as  he  used  to  do  to  the 
king."  Queen  Anne  went  through  the  same  cere- 
mony on  her  way  to  St.  Paul's  to  return  thanks  for 
the  Duke  of  Marlborough's  victories,  and  recently 
Queen  Yictoria,  on  her  way  to  Cornhill  to  open  the 
Poyal  Exchange. 

Fleet-street  and  the  Strand,  be  it  remembered, 
are  named  from  the  fact,  that  in  early  times  the 
former  had  a  rivulet,  now  running  under  ground, 
and  the  latter  was  then  the  bank  of  the  Thames 

Pleasant  memories  cluster  around  the  precincts 
of  Fleet-street  and  its  numerous  courts  and  alleys, 
for  Johnson,  Dryden,  Cowper,  Goldsmith,  Richard- 
son, and  Lamb  have  made  these  places  classic 
ground.  Booksellers'  shops  also  there  were  former- 
ly not  a  few  in  this  vicinity. 

Wynkyn  de  Worde,  the  celebrated  printer, 
lived  at  the  sign  of  the  "  Falcon,"  in  Fleet-street, 
and  the  house  over  Falcon  Court  yet  exists  with  the 
date,  1667,  upon  it ;  Murray,  the  successor  to  Mil- 
ler, lived  here,  when  he  published  Irving's  Sketch 
Book ;  Byron's  Childe  Harold,  and  the  earliest 
Nos.  of  the  Quarterly  Review.     The  first  English 


164  MEMOEIES   OF   THE 

tragedy,  strictly  so  called,  was  printed  at  the  sign 
of  the  Falcon,  in  1561.  Curll,  the  eminent  pub- 
lisher, kept  his  shop  "  over  against "  St.  Dunstan's 
Chnrch,  with  the  sign  of  the  "  Dial  and  Bible." 

On  the  south  side  of  Fleet-street,  between  the 
Temple  Gates,  may  be  seen  an  ancient  house,  once 
occupied  by  the  no  less  celebrated  bookseller  Ber- 
nard Lintot.  The  sign  of  his  shop  was  the  "  Cross 
Keys."  Pinson  also  lived  in  this  street.  'Nqsly  the 
junction  of  Chancery-lane  and  Fleet-street  lived 
Cowley,  Drayton,  and  Isaac  Walton.  The  cele- 
brated orientalist,  Sir  William  Jones,  lived  in 
Lamb's-buildings,  Temple,  which  Goldsmith  and 
Johnson  have  immortalized  by  their  presence  and 
their  pens.  The  Rainbow,  the  Mitre,  the  Cock, 
and  other  celebrated  taverns  in  Fleet-street  and  its 
vicinity,  were  among  the  places  of  most  frequent 
resort  of  the  literati  of  those  days. 

Dr.  Johnson  seems  to  have  had  a  fickle  fancy 
for  changing  his  lodgings ;  it  has  been  estimated 
from  first  to  last  he  occupied  no  less  than  seventeen 
different  houses  or  apartments,  in  or  near  London. 
At  one  time  he  lived  at  ]^o.  4  Gough  Square ;  it 
was  here  he  compiled,  in  part,  his  Dictionary,  and 
other  works.  Bolt  Court  is  also  another  locality 
rendered  classic  by  his  name,  and  the  Mitre  Ta- 
vern  was    where   the    Doctor  was  accustomed  to 


GREAT   METKOPOLK.  165 

keep  such  late  hours.  It  was  here  he  so  frequently 
met  with  his  especial  friends,  Boswell  and  Gold- 
smith. 

In  Fleet-street,  near  Temple  Bar,  still  exists  the 
banking-house  of  Child  and  Co.,  the  most  ancient 
in  London.  The  private  banking  account  of  Charles 
II.  was  kept  here,  and  is  still  extant. 

Ko.  37  Fleet-street  presents  one  of  the  most 
superb  edifices  of  its  class  in  London — it  is  the 
banking  establishment  of  Messrs.  Hoare  ;  and  like 
that  of  Messrs.  Child,  boasts  great  antiquity.  It 
was  originated  by  Eichard  Hoare,  in  1693. 


166 


MEMORIES    OF   THE 


CHAPTER   VII 


Ticket  Porters— the  Temple— Temple  Church— Hall  of  Middle  Temple— An- 
ecdotes of  Goldsmith  and  Johnson — St.  Dunstan's  Church — Bolt  Court 
— Booksellers  ol  Fleet-street — St.  Bride's  Church — Salisbury  Square- 
Bridewell — Monastery  of  the  Blackfriars — Blackfriars'  Bridge — Play- 
house Yard — Printing-house  Square — the  "Times" — Baynard  Castle — 
Ludgate  Hill — Old  Bailey — Green  Arbor  Court— St.  Sepulchre's  Church 
— Stationers'  Hall — Paternoster  Row — The  Chapter  Coffee  House — Pan- 
yer  Alley — Warwick  Lane—  Newgate  Market. 


KOWDED  as  this  busy 
tlioronglifare  is,  let  us 
linger  a  moment  to  catch 
a  glimpse  of  the  many  pha- 
ses of  life  that  are  present- 
ed to  our  view.  We  are 
now  in  the  very  heart  of 
the  mighty  Babel :  here 
are  all  the  various  members  of  society  eagerly  press- 
ing their  way  in  pursuit  of  their  several  occupa- 
tions— from  the  rich  merchant  to  the  "  ticket  por- 
ter," while  the  half  famished  beggar  boy  is  con- 
tentedly feasting  upon  the  meagre  crust  which  the 
hand  of  charity  has  sparingly  bestowed.     We  well 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  167 

remember,  years  ago,  when  ''  ticket  porters "  were 
in  vogue  in  this  neighborhood,  a  singular  speci- 
men of  the  class,  who  was  afflicted  with  St. 
Yitus's  dance.  It  was  amusing  to  see  him  start 
off  all  at  once  without  any  apparent  object  in  view, 
and  running  impetuously  for  some  time  suddenly 
"pull  up,"  as  if  to  reflect  upon  his  precipitate 
course,  and  convulsively  twirling  his  fingers,  and 
making  strange  grimaces,  as  if  repentant  of  his 
folly,  quietly  retrace  his  steps.  We  now  pass 
through  a  dark  archway,  the  Temple  Gate,  which 
leads  us  to  one  of  the  most  interesting  historic  relics 
of  the  City.  The  Temple  is  of  great  antiquity,  dat- 
ing back  as  far  as  1185.  At  the  downfall  of  the 
Knights'  Templars,  in  1313,  the  Temple  was  be- 
stowed upon  the  Earl  of  Pembroke,  at  whose  death 
the  property  passed  to  the  Knights  of  St.  John  of 
Jerusalem,  by  whom  the  Inner  and  Middle  Tem- 
ples w^ere  leased  to  the  students  of  law,  in  1326. 
Spencer  makes  the  following  allusion  to  this  lo- 
cality : — 

"  Those  bricky  towers 
The  which  on  Thames'  broad  aged  back  doe  ride, 
Where  now  the  studious  lawyers  have  their  bowers, 
There  whilom  wont  the  Templar  knights  to  bide, 
Till  they  decayed  through  pride." 

The  Church  of  the  Knights'  Templars  is  model- 
led in  part  after  the  Holy  Sepulchre  at  Jerusalem. 


168 


MEMORIES   OF   THE 


EXTE  EI  OR    VIEW. 


As  you  enter  the  great  circular  tower,  which  is  of 
Norman  architecture,  the  attention  is  arrested  by 
the  monumental  effigies,  by  some  supposed  to  be 
representations  of  the  ancient  knights  ;  this,  how- 
ever,   is    doubted    by    other   antiquarians. 

The  Choir,  which  has  been  recently  restored 
and  beautified,  presents  a  splendid  specimen  of 
the  architectural  taste  of  the  twelfth  century. 

The  learned  Selden  is  buried  here,  the  white 
marble  monument  to  his  memory  being  placed  to 
the  left  of  the  altar,  and  immediately  over  his  re- 
mains. In  the  burial  ground  to  the  east  of  the 
Choir,  and   outside   of   the   building,    repose    the 


GREAT   METROPOLIS. 


169 


ashes   of    Oliver   Goldsmith.       His   funeral    took 
place   on   the   evening  of  the  9th  of  April,  1Y74. 


N  T  r.  }'  I  o  R    \-  1  y.  w 


The  place  is  unclistuiguished ;  l;)nt  a  tablet  recent- 
ly erected  on  the  north  side  of  the  Choir  com- 
memorates the   circumstance 

Many  learned  divines  have  been  lecturers  in 
Temple  Church,  among  the  number  Hooker,  the 
author  of  the  '  Ecclesiastical  Polity,'  and  Archbishop 
Usher,  who  preached  the  funeral  sermon  of  Selden. 
The  organ  at  this  church  was  long  celebrated  as 
being  the  grandest  in  London.  Shakespeare  lays  the 


170  MEMORIES    OF    TITR 

scene  of  the  first  part  of  Henry  YI.,  it  may  be 
remembered,  in  Temple  Gardens.  We  first  bear 
of  Shakespeare's  Twelfth  ISTight  in  connection  with 
its  performance  in  this  fine  old  Hall.  These  gar- 
dens front  the  Thames,  and  are  laid  out  with 
great  taste,  and  are  ornamented  with  stately  trees. 
The  Hall  of  the  Middle  Temple  is  venerable  and 
magnificent ;  it  has  witnessed  more  than  one  royal 
banquet.  Crown  Office  Row,  Temple,  was  the 
birthplace  of  Charles  Lamb  ;  he  says  in  "  Elia," 
"  Cheerful  Crown  Office  Eow,  place  of  my  kindly 
engender." 

Among  the  distinguished  literary  names  con- 
nected with  the  Temple,  may  be  mentioned  the 
following :  Raleigh,  Selden  (who  died  in  White- 
friars),  Clarendon,  Beaumont,  Ford,  Wycherly, 
Congreve,  Rowe,  Fielding,  Johnson,  Burke,  and 
Cowper :  also  Goldsmith,  who  had  chambers 
there.  He  resided  first  on  Library-Staircase, 
afterwards  in  King's  Bench  Walk,  and  finally  at 
'No.  2  Brick  Court.  It  was  in  Wine  Office  Court, 
Fleet-street,  he  wrote  his  "  Yicar  of  Wakefield." 
The  following  is  the  interesting  account  by  Bos- 
well,  of  the  circumstances  under  which  this  charm- 
ing tale  was  sold  : 

"I  received  one  morning,"  said  Johnson,  "a  message  from 
poor  Goldsmith,  that  he  was  in  great  distress,   and,  as  it  w.ns 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  171 

not  in  his  power  to  come  to  me,  begging  that  I  would  come 
to  him  as  soon  as  possible.  I  sent  him  a  guinea,  and  promised 
to  come  to  him  directly.  I  accordingly  went  to  him  as  soon  as 
I  was  dressed,  and  found  that  his  landlady  had  arrested  him  for 
his  rent,  at  which  he  was  in  a  violent  passion.  I  perceived  that 
he  had  already  changed  my  guinea,  and  had  a  bottle  of  Madeira 
and  a  glass  before  him.  I  put  the  cork  into  the  bottle,  desired 
he  would  be  calm,  and  began  to  talk  to  him  of  the  means  by 
which  he  might  be  extricated.  He  then  told  me  that  he 
had  a  novel  ready  for  the  press,  which  he  produced  to  me.  I 
looked  into  it,  and  saw  its  merit;  told  the  landlady  T  should 
soon  return,  and  having  gone  to  a  bookseller,  sold  it  for  sixty 
pounds.  I  brought  Goldsmith  the  money,  and  he  discharged 
his  rent,  not  without  rating  his  landlady  in  a  high  tone  for 
having  used  him  so  ill." 

Those  who  are  familiar  with  Boswell's  "  Life  of 
Johnson"  will  remember  the  following  amusing 
anecdote  of  the  Doctor  :  "  When  Madame  de  Bouf- 
flers  was  first  in  England,  she  was  desirous  to  see 
Johnson.  I  accordingly  went  with  her  to  his  cham- 
bers in  the  Temple,  where  she  was  entertained  with 
his  conversation  for  some  time.  When  our  visit 
was  over,  she  and  I  left  him,  and  were  got  into 
Inner  Temple  Lane,  when  all  at  once  I  heard  a 
noise  like  thunder.  This  was  occasioned  bj  John- 
son, who,  it  seems,  upon  a  little  recollection,  had 
taken  it  into  his  head  that  he  ought  to  have  done 
the  honors  of  his  literary  residence  to  a  foreign  lady 
of  quality,  and  eager  to  show  himself  a  man  of 
gallantry,    was   hurrying  down    the   staircase   in 


172  MEMORIES    OF    THE 

violent  agitation.  He  overtook  us  before  we  reach- 
ed the  Temple  Gate,  and  breaking  in  between  me 
and  Madame  de  Boufflers,  seized  her  hand,  and 
conducted  her  to  her  coach.  His  dress  was  a  rusty 
brown  morning  suit,  a  pair  of  old  shoes  by  way  of 
slippers,  a  little  shrivelled  wig  sticking  on  the  top 
of  his  head,  and  the  sleeves  of  his  shirt  and  the 
knees  of  his  breeches  hanging  loose.  A  consider- 
able crowd  of  people  gathered  round,  and  were  not 
a  little  struck  by  this  singular  appearance  " 

St.  Dud  Stan's  Church,  Fleet-street,  was  founded 
about  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century.  The 
present  structure  is  exceedingly  beautiful,  being  of 
the  Gothic  style.  Among  our  early  recollections  we 
recall  two  huge,  fierce-lookhig  figures  placed  in  the 
old  tower,  each  side  the  clock,  with  clubs  in  their 
hands,  with  which  to  strike  the  hour.  An  ancient 
statue  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  was  also  a  conspicuous 
object  on  the  exterior  of  the  church.  It  will  be  re- 
collected that  Dr.  Johnson  died  in  Bolt  Court,  Fleet- 
street,  a  little  lower  down.  Ferguson,  the  astro- 
nomer, lived  at  ]N"o.  4  in  this  Court,  and  there  he 
died. 

St.  Bride's  Church,  in  Fleet-street,  is  celebrated 
for  its  architectural  beauty,  as  well  as  the  interest- 
ing memories  it  recalls  of  the  past.  Here  repose 
the  ashes  of  Wynkyn  De  Worde,  the  contemporary 


GREAT     METROPOLIS.  1Y3 

of  Caxton ;  Richardson,  the  novelist;  and  Several 
literary  characters  of  the  past  century — Sir  Richard 
Baker,  author  of  the  Chronicle  which  bears  his 
name  ;  also  Richard  Lovelace,  the  poet.  In  this 
cluirch  were  buried,  Ogilby,  the  translator  of  Ho- 
mer ;  Sandford,  author  of  the  Genealogical  History 
which  bears  his  name ;  the  widow  of  Sir  William 
Davenant,  the  poet;  and  Richardson,  author  of 
Clarissa  Harlowe,  his  grave  (half  hid  by  pew  JSTo. 
8,  on  the  south  side)  is  marked  by  a  flat  stone, 
about  the  middle  of  the  centre  aisle. 

St.  Bride's  is  of  very  ancient  foundation.  The 
present  structure  is  the  work  of  Sir  Christopher 
Wren.  It  was  when  Milton  lived  in  St.  Bride's 
churchyard  that  he  contracted  the  ill-assorted  mar- 
riage with  Mary  Pov/elh 

In  a  house,  near  the  centre  of  Salisbury  Square, 
Richardson  wrote  his  "  Pamela."  It  was  here  he 
was  visited  by  most  of  the  eminent  men  of  his  day, 
Hogarth,  Johnson,  Archbishop  Seeker,  Dr.  Young, 
Mrs.  Barbauld,  and  others.  The  last  named  has 
presented  a  graphic  picture  of  these  memorable  li- 
terary gatherings.  Underneath  the  church  wall  of 
St.  Bride's  is  a  pump,  which  is  said  to  cover  the 
site  of  the  ancient  St.  Bride's  Well.  Bridewell, 
named  originally  from  the  same  spring,  was  for- 
merly a  royal  palace.     It  was  built  prior  to  the 


174  MEMORIES    OF    THE 

reign  of  King  John,  and  formed  part  of  an  ancient 
castle.  It  was  inhabited  by  Cardinal  "Wolsej; 
Henry  YIII.  also  lodged  here,  when  his  inhuma- 
nity and  infidelity  to  Catherine  first  betrayed  itself. 
In  the  time  of  the  great  Lord  Burleigh  it  was  con- 
verted into  a  House  of  Correction  for  vagrants.  It 
was  here  a  notorious  procuress,  of  the  days  of 
Charles  II.,  closed  her  career.  She  desired  by  will 
to  have  a  sermon  preached  at  her  funeral,  for  which 
the  preacher  was  to  have  ten  pounds — but  upon  the 
express  condition  that  he  was  to  say  nothing  but 
what  was  well  of  her.  Clerical  ingenuity  closed 
the  funeral  oration  in  the  following  words  : — "  All 
I  shall  say  of  her,  therefore,  is  this  :  she  was  born 
well^  she  lived  well^  and  she  died  well ;  for  she 
was  born  with  the  name  Creswell,  she  lived  in  Cler- 
'kenwell,  and  she  died  in  IBridewell.''^ 

In  the  days  of  the  Plantagenets,  when  the  sove- 
reigns of  England  held  their  courts  indiscriminate- 
ly in  the  palaces  of  Bridewell,  Westminster,  and 
the  Tower,  the  banks  of  the  Thames  between  the 
latter  fortress  and  the  Temple  appear  to  have  been 
occupied  by  the  splendid  mansions  and  gardens  of 
the  nobility.  Immediately  to  the  east  of  Black- 
friars'-Bridge,  stood  the  great  monastery  of  the 
Black-Friars,  which,  with  its  gardens  and  precincts, 
covered  a  vast  space  of  ground ;  had  its  four  gates 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  175 

and  its  sanctuary ;  and  could  also  boast  of  one  of 
the  most  magnificent  churches  in  the  metropolis. 
During  the  reign  of  Henry  YIII.,  Parliament  con- 
vened in  this  monastery ;  and  it  was  here  the 
charges  were  preferred  against  Wolsey.  The  bu- 
rial-ground of  this  monastery  received  the  remains 
of  many  distinguished  personages  of  that  time — the 
privilege  of  being  interred  in  the  habit  of  their 
order  having  been  supposed  to  be  a  certain  safe- 
guard against  the  power  of  the  evil  spirit.  This 
monastery  shared  the  fate  of  other  religious  houses 
in  1547.  It  was  near  here  that  the  unfortunate 
Lord  Cobham  resided,  at  whose  house  Queen  Eli- 
zabeth was  once  entertained.  It  was  on  the  occa- 
sion of  the  festival  in  honor  of  the  marriage  of  Lord 
Herbert,  when  the  wrinkled  Queen,  at  sixty-three, 
figured  in  the  gay  frivolities  of  the  girl  of  eighteen. 
This  entertainment  took  place  but  a  few  months 
previous  to  her  signing  the  death-warrant  of  the  ill- 
fated  Earl  of  Essex. 

Crossing  Fleet-street  is  Farringdon-street,  which 
leads  to  Holborn  (originally  called  Old  Bourne, 
from  the  stream  which  in  early  times  connected 
itself  with  the  Thames).  In  1606,  Fleet  Kiver 
was  navigable  by  vessels  as  far  as  Holborn. 

Flay  house- Yard,  in  the  vicinity,  is  the  site  of 
Blackfriars'   Theatre,  where   Shakespeare  enacted 


176  MEMORIES   OF  THE 

some  of  his  characters.  In  the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood is  Printinghouse  Square,  in  which  is  the 
well-known  establishment  of  the  Times  newspaper. 
Continuing  the  route  along  Thames-street,  the 
next  object  of  special  interest  that  we  meet  with 
on  the  northern  banks  of  the  river,  is  Baynard 
Castle.  It  is  situated  between  Paul's- Wharf  and 
Puddle-Dock,  near  the  site  of  old  St.  Paul's.  Bay- 
nard Castle — endeared  to  us  by  the  genius  of  Shak- 
speare — is  associated  with  some  of  the  most  stirring 
scenes  in  English  history.  It  derives  its  name  from 
its  founder,  one  of  the  N"orman  barons,  who  accom- 
panied William  the  Conqueror  to  England.  The 
castle  was  destroyed  in  1428,  and  rebuilt  by  Hum- 
phrey, Duke  of  Gloucester,  on  whose  attainder  it 
reverted  to  the  crown.  Its  next  occupant  w^as 
Eichard  Plantagenet,  Duke  of  York,  who  main- 
tained four  hundred  followers  within  its  walls,  and 
who  carried  on  here  his  ambitious  projects  against 
the  government  of  Henry  YI.  In  1460  young  Ed- 
ward lY.  made  it  his  abode  for  a  time  ;  and  after 
his  accession  to  the  throne,  he  conferred  it  upon 
the  Duke  of  Gloucester.  Henry  YII.  frequently 
resided  in  Baynard  Castle,  and  added  to  its  extent 
and  decorations.  The  Earl  of  Pembroke  was  an- 
other of  its  occupants,  and  it  was  here  he  entertain- 
ed   Queen  Elizabeth   shortly  after  her  coronation. 


GREAT    METROPOLIS.  177 

Baynard  Castle  was  destroyed  in  the  Great  Fire ; 
its  name,  however,  is  still  preserved  in  Baynard 
Castle  Ward. 

Blackfriars'-Bridge,  commenced  in  1760,  is 
memorable  as  having  been  one  of  the  principal 
scenes  of  the  famous  Protestant  outbreak  fomented 
by  Lord  George  Gordon.  For  three  days  the  po- 
pulace were  masters  of  the  metropolis ;  the  conflict 
on  the  bridge  was  terrific  and  disastrous,  and  the 
causeway  was  actually  dyed  with  blood. 


The  visitor  to  the  City  will  hardly  fail  to  cross 
this  central  bridge,  since  it  leads  to  many  objects 
of  interest  which  lie  between  Blackfriars'  and 
Southwark  bridges. 

The  view  of  the  City  from  Blackfriars'-Bridge 


1Y8  MEMORIES    OF    THE 

is  very  imposing ;  it  is  here  we  see  the  majestic 
dome  of  St.  Paul's  towering  high  above  the  almost 
countless  pinnacles  and  spires  of  churches,  and  as 
far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  the  mass  of  brick  and 
stone  buildings  which  line  the  banks  of  the 
Thames. 

"  It  is  by  the  Thames,"  says  Sir  Henry  L.  Bul- 
wer,  "  that  the  foreigner  should  enter  London.  The 
broad  breast  of  this  great  river,  black  with  the 
huge  masses  that  float  upon  its  crowded  waters, — 
the  tall  fabrics,  gaunt  and  drear,  that  line  its  me- 
lancholy shores, — ^the  thick  gloom  through  which 
you  dimly  catch  the  shadowy  outline  of  these  gi- 
gantic forms — the  marvellous  quiet  with  which  you 
glide  by  the  dark  phantoms  of  her  power  into  the 
mart  of  nations — the  sadness,  the  silence,  the  vast- 
ness,  the  obscurity  of  all  things  around — prepare 
you  for  a  grave  and  solemn  magnificence," 

There  are  upwards  of  sixty  steamers  plying 
daily  on  the  river  Thames.  It  is  computed  that 
they  pass  under  the  bridges  at  the  rate  of  one  per 
minute  during  the  entire  day. 

Passing  np  Ludgate  Hill,  and  turning  north- 
ward, we  reach  the  Old  Bailey,  the  terrible  site  of 
public  executions.  We  shall  not  pause  to  refer  to 
its  dark  records,  for  while  many  have  been  justly 
doomed  to  expiate  their  crimes,  we  cannot  forget 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  179 

that  it  has  witnessed  the  sacrifice  of  many  valuable 
lives.  For  nearly  two  centuries  this  prison  was 
the  scene  of  the  infliction  of  fearful  cruelties,  as 
well  as  the  administration  of  justice.  The  prison 
itself  is  called  Newgate.  The  worthy  William 
Penn  was  once  incarcerated  within  its  walls,  for 
preaching  against  the  Established  Church. 

But  since  those  days  a  great  amelioration  has 
taken  place,  not  only  in  the  repeal  of  many  barba- 
rous laws  that  disgraced  the  English  Statute-book, 
but  also  in  the  condition  of  such  criminals  as  have 
made  themselves  amenable  to  the  present  milder 
code — a  consummation  that  has  been  brought 
about,  not  alone  by  a  more  humane  spirit  in  the 
Legislature,  but  also  through  the  benevolent  efforts 
of  individuals,  the  first  and  most  prominent  of  whom 
was  the  immortal  Howard,  who  has  earned  the 
surname  of  "  the  great  philanthropist,"  and  whose 
conduct  has  been  worthily  imitated  in  our  own 
day  by  the  well-known  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Fry,  Mr. 
Gurney,.and  several  others. 

At  No.  12  Green  Arbor  Court,  Old  Bailey, 
lived  Oliver  Goldsmith.  In  an  apartment  here, 
he  is  said  to  have  written  the  "  Yicar  of  "Wake- 
field," and  the  poem  of  "The  Ti-aveller."  The 
antiquary,  Camden,  was  born  in  the  Old  Bailey. 

The  very  house  is  still  standing,  the  last  in  the 


180  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

alley,  facing  a  flight  of  steps,  facetiously  perhaps, 
but  very  appropriately,  called  "  Breakneck  Stairs." 
Dirty  as  is  this  shrine  of  genius,  we  cannot  with- 
hold our  tribute  to  the  memory  of  one  of  the  classic 
names  of  the  world's  literature.  At  the  end  of  the 
Old  Bailey  stands  St.  Sepulchre's  Church,  which 
is  worthy  of  note  as  containing  the  remains  of  the 
heroic  Capt.  John  Smith,  who  died  1631. 

Sydney  House,  in  the  Old  Bailey,  once  the  re- 
sidence of  the  Sydneys,  till  they  removed  to  Lei- 
cester Fields,  was  subsequently  shorn  of  its  dignity 
by  becoming  the  abode  of  the  notorious  Jonathan 
Wild. 

Returning  to  Ludgate  Hill,  we  next  approach 
Stationers'  Hall  Court,  near  which  are  the  business 
premises  of  Mr.  Charles  Knight,  the  celebrated 
author  and  publisher.  Stationers'  Hall  is  the  old 
establishment  of  the  Booksellers'  and  Stationers' 
Company,  incorporated  in  1Y5T.  It  is  here  all  co- 
pyright publications  are  registered  and  deposited. 
Facing  this  building  is  Simpkin  and  Marshall's  ex- 
tensive book-warehouse.  Passing  this  we  reach 
Amen-Corner,  which  forms  the  terminus  of  Pater- 
noster-row, the  world's  great  literary  emporium. 

Paternoster-row  is  said  to  have  been  so  called 
on  account  of  the  number  of  Stationers  or  Text- 
writers  who  dwelt  there,  and  dealt  much  in  reli- 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  18l 

gious  books,  and  sold  liorn-books,  with  the  Pater- 
noster, Ave-Maria,  Creed,  etc.  Cunningham,  how- 
ever, supposes  it  was  named  from  the  rosary  or 
paternoster-makers  ;  for  so  they  were  called,  as 
appears  by  a  record  of  "  one  Eobert  ISTikke,  a 
paternoster-maker  and  citizen,"  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  lY. 

The  "  Eow,"  as  it  is  technically  called  by  the 
craft,  did  not  assume  any  importance  till  the  reign 
of  Queen  Anne,  when  the  booksellers  began  to  for- 
sake their  former  principal  mart.  Little  Britain;  and 
which  may  be  said  to  have  become  the  resort  of  all 
the  bibliopoles  about  the  time  of  the  renowned  John 
Day,  terminating  with  the  equally  celebrated  Bal- 
lard (themselves  both  authors  and  booksellers) ; 
during  which  period,  those  of  our  category  appear 
to  have  been  singularly  conspicuous.  In  earlier 
times  Paternoster-row  seems  to  have  been  more 
noted  for  mercers,  lacemen  and  haberdashers,  and 
a  newspaper  periodical  of  1707  adds  to  the  list, 
"  the  sempstresses  of  Paternoster-row."  We  find, 
however,  the  record  of  a  solitary  member  of  the 
craft,  one  Denham,  who  lived  then  at  the  sign  of 
the  "  Star,"  as  early  as  1564,  and  whose  significant 
motto  ran  as  follows  : 

"  Os  homini  sublime  dedit.** 

The  bookselling  brotherhood  of  Paternoster-row 


182  MEMORIES    OF    THE 

number  about  one  hundred ;  they  enjoy  amongst 
themselves  a  kind  of  freemasonry,  and  impose  laws 
and  restrictions  on  the  minor  members  of  the 
trade. 

The  Chapter  Coffee  House,  in  Paternoster-row, 
has  long  been,  and  still  is,  the  place  where  the 
bookselling  fraternity  "  do  chiefly  congregate." 

It  is  here  they  hold  council  on  matters  of  busi- 
ness among  themselves  or  with  authors.  Eiving- 
tons  is  the  senior  publishing  house ;  near  where 
Dolly's  chop-house  now  stands,  once  lived  Tarlton, 
Queen  Elizabeth's  celebrated  jester.  Rivingtons' 
house  has  been  established  more  than  a  century,  and 
is  devoted  to  the  publication  of  "  High  Church  " 
theological  literature.  Longmans'  is  the  next  oldest 
establishment,  and  the  one  that  does  the  heaviest 
business  in  the  trade.  One  of  Longmans'  earliest 
publications,  "Drysdale's  Warwickshire,"  folio, 
bears  the  imprint  1730. 

In  Lovell's  Court,  now  forming  part  of  the  pre- 
mises of  the  Rivingtons,  Richardson  wrote  his  "  Sir 
Charles  Grandison."  Over  Rivington's  door  may  still 
be  seen  the  old  sign  of  "  The  Bible  and  Crown." 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  Row  is  Panyer-alley, 
which  takes  its  name  from  a  stone  monument  erect- 
ed therein,  on  which  is  inscribed  the  figure  of  a 
pannier,  across  which  a  boy  is  seated,  with  a  bunch 


GREAT    METROPOLIS.  183 

of  grapes  held  between  his  hand  and  foot,  beneath 
which  is  a  tablet  with  the  following  : 

"  When  you  have  sought  y®  citie  round,  -^ 

Yet  still  this  is  the  highest  grounde. 
August  the  27,  1688." 

Warwick-lane,  which  is  a  little  lower  down, 
takes  its  name  from  the  ancient  Earls  of  Warwick, 
who  dwelt  here. 

At  I^ewgate-street  end  may  be  seen  a  stone 
tablet,  referring  to  the  famous  Earl  of  Warwick, 
who,  according  to  Stowe,  came  to  London  at  the 
famous  convention  of  1458,  "  with  six  hundred  men 
all  dressed  in  red  jackets,  embroidered  with  ragged 
staves,  before  and  behind,  and  was  lodged  in  War- 
wick-lane; in  whose  house  there  were  often  six 
oxen  eaten  at  a  breakfast,  and  every  tavern  was 
fuTl  of  his  meat ;  for  he  that  had  any  acquaintance 
in  that  house,  might  have  there  so  much  of  sodden 
and  roast  meat  as  he  could  prick  and  carry  upon  a 
long  dagger." 

The  butchers  of  Il^ewgate  Market,  leading  from 
Warwick-lane,  who  are  thickly  colonized  there, — 
to  the  great  discomfort  of  the  neighboring  pur- 
veyors of  intellectual  meat,  the  booksellers — may 
possibly  have  chosen  this  location  for  the  purpose 
of  doing  honor  to  the  memory  of  the  redoubtable 
Earl  and  his  gormandizing  army. 
7 


184  MEMORIES    OF   THE 

At  the  corner  of  St.  Paul's  Churcliyard  lived 
Mr.  Il^ewberry,  the  famous  bookseller  to  the  Juve- 
niles. The  house  is  now  occupied  by  a  successor, 
who  caters  to  their  fancy  with  a  greater  display 
than  his  renowned  predecessor. 


GREAT   METROPOLIS. 


185 


CHAPTER     VIII. 

Johnson  the  Bookseller — St.  Paul's  Cathedral— Its  Interior — Monuments — 
Anecdote  of  Dr.  Donne — View  from  the  Summit  of  St.  Paul's — Anniver- 
sary of  the  Charity  Children  in  St.  Paul's — St.  Paul's  Churchyard — 
Doctors'  Commons — Heralds'  College — St  Paul's  School,  Cheapside — 
Bread-street — Guildhall — The  Poultry — Old  Jewry — The  Mansion  House 
— Bank  of  England — St.  Stephen's  Church,  Walbrook — Lombard-street 
— St.  Mary's,  Woolnoth — St.  Olave's  Church— St.  Mary's,  Aldermanbury 
— St.  Magnus' — St.  Augustine's — The  Royal  Exchange — Lloyds'— The 
NortJi  and  South  American  Coft'ee  House — Garraway's  Coflee  House 
—Pope's  Head  Alley — St.  Peter's,  Cornhill — South  Sea  House — Aldgate 
— East  India  House. 


EFOEE  we  take  leave  of  the  book- 
;ellers,  we  might  mention  that  at 
:N"o.  Y2  St.  Paul's  Churchyard,  lived 
Johnson,  the  publisher  of  Cowper's 
^"  Task."  It  may  be  remembered  that  not- 
withstanding it  was  almost  universally  de- 
nounced by  the  literary  censorship  of  the  day, 
yet,  such  was  the  superior  critical  acumen  of 
worthy  bibliopolist,  that  he  had  the  courage  to  this 
publish  the  subsequent  poems  of  Cowper,  and  the 
satisfaction  of  sustaining  his  own  and  reversing 
public  opinion  in  their  favor. 

St.  Paul's  Cathedral — the  most  magnificent 
religious  edifice  of  the  City — occupies  classic 
ground.     On  its  site  once  stood  a  heathen  temple  ; 


186  MEMORIES    OF   THE 

a  Christian   Chiircti  was  founded  A.  D.  610,  by 
Ethelbert ;    and  after  this,  the  old  cathedral  which 

was  destroyed  in  the  Great  Fire. 

t/ 

Old  St.  Paul's  abounded  with  historical  associa- 
tions, and  contained  the  ashes  of  many  illustrions 
personages.  Paul's  Cross,  which  stood  in  front 
of  the  western  porch,  was  memorable  as  being  the 
place  at  which  royal  marriages  were  announced  ; 
and  among  the  number  that  of  Henry  YII.  It 
was  at  Paul's  Cross  that  the  illustrious  martyrs, 
Latimer  and  Ridley,  were  accustomed  to  deliver 
their  powerful  appeals  in  behalf  of  the  reformed 
religion.  In  1588,  Queen  Elizabeth,  it  will  be 
remembered,  went  in  state  to  the  Cathedral  to  re- 
turn thanks  for  the  destruction  of  the  "  Invincible 
Armada."  The  last  time  that  a  sermon  was 
preached  at  Paul's  Cross  in  the  presence  of  royalty, 
was  in  1630,  before  Charles  the  First.  In  1643,  the 
Long  Parliament  voted  the  destruction  of  the  dif- 
ferent crosses  in  London,  as  being  oifensive  relics 
of  Popery.  The  same  year,  during  the  civil  wars, 
the  Cathedral  was  doomed  to  havoc  and  desecra- 
tion, and  during  the  Great  Fire,  it  was  v^holly  sa- 
crificed by  the  devouring  element.  The  present 
magnificent  structure  was  commenced  in  16T5,  and 
completed  in  1710  ;  the  grandest  monument  of 
architectural  skill  ever  achieved  by  a  single  indi- 


5t.  yaurs  Catljctii'U. 


GREAT   METEOPOLIS.  189 

vidual.  It  occupied  thirtj-fiv^e  years  in  building, 
under  tlie  superintendence  of  Sir  Christopher 
Wren ;  while  St.  Peter's,  at  Eome,  took  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-five  years  in  its  construction,  under 
the  supervision  of  twelve  successive  architects. 
St.  Paul's  is  more  symmetrically  beautiful  than  St. 
Peter's  ;  its  cost  was  close  upon  £750,000.  Its 
dimensions  are  4:04  feet  in  height,  500  in  length, 
and  250  at  its  extreme  breadth.  St.  Peter's  is  437 
feet  in  height,  730  feet  long,  and  500  broad.  Wren 
received  only  £200  a  year  during  the  progress  of 
this  great  work ;  for  which  he  incurred  the  great 
responsibility  of  the  undertaking,  as  well  as  the 
hazard  of  his  life  in  being  hauled  up  in  baskets 
scores  of  times,  even  to  the  top  of  the  cupola  and 
cross.  While  Wren  was  adjusting  the  dimensions 
of  the  dome,  he  ordered  a  laborer  to  bring  him  a 
flat  stone  to  be  laid  as  a  direction  to  the  masons. 
The  man  brought  by  chance  a  fragment  of  a  grave- 
stone on  which  the  word  Resurgam  was  inscribed. 
This  suggested  to  Sir  Christopher  the  idea  of  the 
phoenix,  which  he  placed  on  the  south  portico  with 
that  word  cut  beneath.  In  the  centre  of  the  Cathe- 
dral, immediately  under  the  great  dome,  is  an  in- 
scription in  brass  over  the  remains  of  the  great 
architect,  which  reads  as  follows : — 

"  Si  monumentum  requiris  circumspice." 


190  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

The  interior  of  this  vast  edifice  is  in  the  form  of 
a  Latin  cross,  having  a  nave,  choir,  transepts,  and 
side  aisles. 

The  choir  is  separated  from  the  body  of  the 
Church  by  iron  railings.  Over  the  entrance  to  it 
is  the  organ  gallery,  and  an  organ  erected  in  1694, 
by  Bernard  Schmydt,  or  Smith,  at  a  cost  of  £2000, 
and  supposed  to  be  one  of  the  first  in  the  kingdom. 
On  the  south  side  of  the  choir  is  a  throne  for  the 
bishop,  and  on  the  north  side  another  for  the  lord 
mayor ;  besides  those  there  is  on  each  side  a  long 
range  of  stalls.  The  whole  are  richly  ornamented 
with  carvings,  by  Grinley  Gibbons,  who  was  the 
first,  according  to  "Walpole,  who  succeeded  in 
giving  to  w^ood  "  the  loose  and  airy  lightness  of 
flowers  ;  and  chained  together  the  various  produc- 
tions of  the  elements  with  a  free  disorder  natural 
to  each  species."  In  the  chancel,  or  semicircular 
recess,  at  the  east  end,  stands  the  commimion  table. 

The  lofty  columns  which  support  the  immense 
dome,  are  clustered  with  sculptured  monuments  of 
names  distinguished  in  British  history.  The  rest- 
ing place  of  ITelson  is  probably  that  which  excites 
the  deepest  interest ;  it  is  in  the  crypt  of  the  Ca- 
thedral. There  is  a  gallery  round  the  interior  of 
the  dome  known  as  "The  Whispering  Gallery," 
where,  by  whispering  against  the  wall,  a  person  at 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  191 

the  opposite  extremity  can  liear  what  you  say,  as 
distinctly  as  if  you  spoke  in  a  loud  voice.  The 
slamming  of  a  door  in  that  gallery  reverberates 
like  thunder. 

Some  fair  specimens  of  the  sculptor's  art  beautify 
the  interior  of  the  Cathedral ;  we  can  only  indicate 
a  few, — the  statue  of  Howard  the  philanthropist, 
and  that  of  Johnson,  both  by  Bacon.  Also  of  Sir 
William  Jones  ;  Sir  John  Moore ;  Lords  Howe, 
Cornwallis,  Rodney,  etc. 

But  the  passenger  through  St.  Paul's  Church- 
yard has  not  only  the  last  home  of  E'elson  and 
others  to  venerate,  but  in  the  ground  of  the  old 
church  were  buried  the  gallant  Sir  Philip  Sydney 
(the  heau  ideal  of  the  age  of  Elizabeth),  and  Yan- 
dyke,  who  immortalised  the  youth  and  beauty  of 
the  court  of  Charles  I.  One  of  Elizabeth's  great 
statesmen  also  lies  there — Walsingham, — who  died 
so  poor,  that  he  was  buried  by  stealth,  to  prevent 
his  body  from  being  arrested  ;  another,  Sir  Chris- 
topher Hatton,  who  is  supposed  to  have  danced 
himself  into  the  office  of  Her  Majesty's  Chancellor ; 
Fletcher,  Bishop  of  London,  father  of  the  great 
poet,  w^as  another  who  had  a  tomb  in  the  old 
Church.  Dr.  Donne,  the  head  of  the  metaphysical 
poets,  so  ably  criticised  by  Johnson,  was  Dean  of 
St.  Paul's,  and  had  a  grave  here,  of  which  he  has 


192  MEMORIES    OF   THE 

left  an  extraordinary  memorial.  It  is  a  wooden 
image  of  himself,  made  by  his  order,  and  repre- 
senting him  as  he  was  to  appear  in  his  shroud. 
This,  for  some  time  before  he  died,  he  kept  by  his 
bed-side,  in  an  open  coffin,  thus  endeavoring  to 
reconcile  an  uneasy  imagination  to  the  fate  he 
could  not  avoid.  It  is  still  preserved  in  the  vaults 
under  the  church,  and  is  to  be  seen  with  the  other 
curiosities  of  the  Cathedral. 

On  a  clear  day,  which  is  somewhat  a  rarity  in 
the  smoky  Metropolis,  one  of  the  most  magnificent 
sights  the  eye  can  behold  or  the  mind  contemplate, 
is  afforded  from  the  summit  of  St.  Paul's.  It  is 
somewhat  of  an  undertaking,  it  is  true,  to  make 
one's  way  up  some  six  or  seven  hundred  steps  to 
the  top,  but  once  having  gained  it,  the  labor  is 
more  than  repaid.  This  we  can  avouch  from  repeat- 
ed experience  ;  and  so  sublime  a  spectacle  was  it 
deemed  by  Haydon,  that  he  perilled  his  life  during 
a  series  of  months  in  sketching  from  a  scaffolding 
erected  over  the  cross,  the  panorama  from  which 
he  painted  his  celebrated  picture  of  London. 

The  most  interesting  time  to  witness  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral,  is  on  the  anniversary  celebration  of 
the  Parochial  Schools  of  London  in  May,  when 
some  fifteen  thousand  children,  the  members  of  each 
school  being  dressed  alike,  are  congregated  within 


GREAT    METROPOLIS. 


193 


this   vast  temple.     Divine  service   is   performed 
twice  a  day,  in  a  comparatively  small  enclosm*e, 


being  the  eastern  aisle.  There  is  a  harrier  dividing 
St.  Paul's  Churchyard  north  and  south ;  it  was 
formerly  called  "  Paul's  Chain."  In  Knight- 
Hiders'-street  is  situated  Doctors'  Commons,  a  sort 
of  college  of  civil   and   ecclesiastical    law.      All 


194  MEMORIES    OF   THE 

wills  are  deposited  here,  and  are  registered  from 
the  year  1333. 

Here  is  the  original  will  of  Shakespeare,  on 
three  folio  sheets  of  paper,  with  his  signature  to 
each  sheet ;  the  will  of  ITapoleon,  made  at  St. 
Helena,  bequeathing  a  legacy  of  10,000  francs  to 
the  man  who  tried  to  assassinate  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  in  Paris ;  the  will  of  Yan  Dyck,  the 
painter  ;  of  Inigo  Jones  ;  Sir  Isaac  ]N'ewton  ;  Dr. 
Johnson;  and,  in  short,  of  all  the  great  men  in 
this  country  who  died  possessed  of  property  in  the 
south  of  England. 

In  the  immediate  neighborhood  is  the  Heralds' 
College.  It  is  approached  under  an  arched  gate- 
way which  conducts  to  the  quadrangular  building. 
A  gorgeous  display  of  colors  falls  on  the  eye  in 
passing  it,  as  from  a  Cathedral  window, — 

"  And  shielded  scutcheons  blush 
*  With  blood  of  Kings  and  Queens." 

The  corporation  is  of  great  antiquity.  It  con- 
sists of  three  kings-at-arms,  six  heralds-at-arms, 
and  four  2:>ursuivants-at-arms,  all  nominated  by  the 
Earl  Marshal  of  England.  These  mock  kings 
were  formerly  created  and  crowned  by  the  king 
himself,  but  that  ceremony  is  now  performed  by 
the  Duke  of  N^orfolk,  as  hereditary  Earl  Marshal 
of  England,  or  his  deputy. 


GiiEAT   METROPOLIS.  195 

Among  its  curiosities  are  the  sword,  dagger, 
and  ring  belonging  to  James  IV.  of  Scotland,  who 
fell  at  Flodden-field,  and  the  Roll  of  the  Tourna- 
ment hoiden  at  "Westminster  by  Henry  YIII.,  in 
honor  of  Queen  Katherine. 

Passing  by  St.  Paul's  School,  which  was  found- 
ed in  1512,  by  Dean  Colet,  the  friend  of  Erasmus, 
we  enter  Cheapside,  or  Westcheap,  as  it  was  for- 
merly called ;  it  is  one  of  the  most  frequented 
thoroughfares  in  London,  was  famous  in  former 
times  for  its  "  Ridings,"  its  "  Cross,"  its  "  Con- 
duit," and  its  "  Standard,"  and,  still  later,  for  its 
silk-mercers,  linen-drapers,  and  hosiers.  At  "No. 
73,  lived  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  in  a  splendid 
stone  edifice,  since  restored  and  recently  occupied 
by  Tegg,  the  well-known  bookseller,  who  amassed  a 
fortune  by  the  purchase  and  sale  of  "  remainders  " 
of  works  of  the  several  publishers.  In  Bread- 
street,  Sir  Thomas  More  was  born,  and  on  the  op- 
posite side  Milton.  Here  also  stood  the  famous 
Mermaid  Tavern,  the  celebrated  rendezvous  of 
Raleigh,  Spencer,  Shakespeare,  Selden,  Ben  Jon- 
son,  Donne,  etc. 

Guildhall  abounds  with  historical  interest.  It 
was  here  the  fair  martyr,  Anna  Askew,  was 
brought  to  trial,  also  the  beautiful  and  accomplished 
Lady  Jane  Gray,  the  Earl  of  Surrey,  etc.     Guild- 


196  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

hall  has  also  been  famous  for  centuries,  for  its  civic 
feasts,  at  many  of  which  royalty  presided.  On 
the  occasion  of  the  peace,  in  1814,  the  city  gave  a 
magnificent  banquet,  at  vrhich  the  Prince  Regent, 
the  Emperor  of  Russia,  and  other  potentates  were 
guests;  the  total  expenditure  of  which  was  esti- 
mated at  the  enormous  sum  of  £24,000.  The 
plate  alone  is  stated  to  have  been  worth  £200,000. 
The  great  civic  festival — the  "  Lord  Mayor's 
Show," — which  occurs  on  the  9th  of  N^ovember, 
concludes  w^ith  a  sumptuous  entertainment  at 
Guildhall.  John  Bull  still  retains  the  enviable 
reputation  of  giving  good  dinners  ;  a  faculty  he 
seems  to  have  acquired  from  his  ancestors.  Opposite 
Guildhall  is  Bow  Church,  the  well-known  centre  of 
cockney  ism. 

The  Poultry — so  called  from  its  having  in  for- 
mer times  been  principally  tenanted  by  poulterers — 
extending  from  Cheapside  to  Cornhill,  was  the 
locale  of  Dilly,  the  bookseller,  who  subsequently 
sold  his  business  to  Mawman ;  his  shop  was  E'o. 
22.  There  Johnson  dined  with  Jack  Wilkes,  and 
here  Bos  well's  "  Life  of  Johnson"  was  first  publish- 
ed. lS,o,  31,  was  Yennor  and  Hood's,  the  book- 
sellers— ^Tom  Hood,  the  punster  and  poet,  was 
born  here,  the  head  of  the  firm  being  his  father. 

Old  Jewry,  connecting  Cheapside  with  Cateaton- 


GREAT     METROPOLIS.  197 

street,  was  first  so  called  from  its  being  chiefly  in- 
habited by  Jews.  Here  was  originally  held  the 
London  Institution,  and  here  its  Librarian,  Prof. 
Parson,  died,  in  1808.  Dr.  Foster,  a  celebrated 
preacher  upwards  of  twenty  years  in  the  Old 
Jewry,  and  the  friend  of  Lord  Chancellor 
Hardwicke,  is  referred  to  by  Pope  in  the  follow- 
ing couplet: — 

"  Let  modest  Foster,  if  he  will  excel 
Two  Metropolitans  in  preaching  well." 

According  to  tradition,  in  the  corner  house  of 
Old  Jewry  and  Cheapside,  Thomas  a-Becket  was 
born.  In  St.  Lawrence  Church,  adjacent,  is  a 
monument  to  the  memory  of  the  amiable  and  dis- 
tinguished Tillotson,  many  of  whose  admirable 
sermons  were  delivered  here.  The  Arch- 
bishop was  both  married  and  buried  in  this 
Church. 

The  Mansion  House,  the  official  residence  of 
the  Lord  Mayor,  is  said  to  have  cost  upwards  of 
£70,000.  The  state-carriage  of  the  Lord  Mayor, 
second  only  in  splendor  to  the  Queen's,  originally 
cost  about  a  thousand  guineas,  and  requires  about 
£100  a  year  to  keep  it  in  repair.  The  annual  sa- 
lary of  t^e  Lord  Mayor  is  £8000,  and  his  expenses 
usually  exceed  that  amount.  It  was  built  about  a 
century  since,  but  has  been  frequently  beautified. 


198  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

and  is,  as  a  whole,  a  very  grand  and  imposing 
structure.  Some  years  ago,  the  writer  of  these 
"  Memories"  was  at  a  grand  civic  banquet  in  the 
"  Egyptian  Hall,"  on  which  occasion  the  celebrated 
Talleyrand  was  a  guest.  He  was  paraded  round 
the  Hall,  heralded  by  trumpeters  gaudily  dressed  in 
gold-lace  coats. 

Facing  the  Mansion  House  is  the  renowned 
Bank  of  England.  It  is  an  enormous  mass  of 
buildings,  occupying  eight  acres  of  ground.  This 
mighty  magazine  of  money — the  largest  banking 
establishment  by  far  in  the  world — was  originated 
in  1694.  More  than  eight  hundred  clerks  are  oc- 
cupied in  the  various  departments,  besides  forty 
or  fifty  engravers,  printers,  &c. ;  and  some  two 
hundred  pensioners  and  superannuated  clerks  de- 
rive annuities  from  the  Bank.  On  the  14th  of 
May,  1832,  it  is  recorded  that  the  twenty-five 
tellers  paid,  within  the  limits  of  banking  hours,  no 
less  a  sum  than  £307,000  in  gold  1  The  Bank  is 
allowed  only  to  issue  paper  to  the  amount  of  four- 
teen millions  sterling.  The  great  event  in  its 
history  occurred  in  1797,  when  it  suspended  cash 
payments,  yet  then,  after  all  claims  had  been  de- 
ducted, fifteen  and  a  half  millions  sterling  remain- 
ed over  in  the  vaults. 

In  the  Bank  of  England  no  fewer  than  sixty 


GREAT    METROPOLIS.  201 

folio  volumes,  or  ledgers,  are  daily  filled  with 
writing  in  keeping  the  accounts !  To  produce 
these  sixty  folio  volumes,  the  paper  having  been 
previously  manufactured  elsewhere,  eight  men, 
three  steam-presses,  and  two  hand-j)resses  are  con- 
tinually kept  going  within  the  Bank  !  In  the  cop- 
per-plate printing  department,  28,000  bank-notes 
are  thrown  off  daily ;  and  so  accurately  is  the 
number  indicated  by  machinery,  that  to  purloin 
a  single  note  without  detection  is  an  impossibility. 

St.  Stephen's  Church,  Walbrook,  is  one  of  the 
boasted  edifices  of  the  distinguished  architect, 
"Wren.  It  is  admitted  to  be  one  of  the  most 
beautifully  proportioned  buildings  ever  constructed. 
A  nobleman,  celebrated  for  his  artistic  and  archi- 
tectural taste,  (the  Earl  of  Burlington,)  on  return- 
ing from  a  tour  in  Italy  some  years  ago,  paid  a 
visit  to  St.  Stephen's,  and  pronounced  it  equal  to 
anything  of  its  kind  in  the  world. 

There  is  a  fine  painting  by  Benjamin  West,  of 
the  Stoning  of  St.  Stephen,  at  the  church  of  St. 
Mary  Woolnoth,  Lombard-street.  John  E"ewton, 
the  friend  of  Cowper,  was  for  twenty-eight  years 
rector.  He  died  1807,  and  a  tablet  to  his  memory 
is  placed  within  the  church,  with  the  following  in- 
scription : 

"  John  Newton,  Clerk,  once  an  infidel  and  a  libertine,  a 


202  MEMORIES    OF   THE 

servant  of  slaves  in  Africa,  was  by  the  rich  mercy  of  our  Lord 
and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  preserved,  restored,  pardoned  and 
appointed  to  preach  the  faith  he  had  long  labored  to  destroy." 

In  Lombard-street,  Guy,  the  bookseller,  and 
founder  of  Guy's  Hospital,  lived.  The  father  of 
Pope,  the  poet,  was  a  linendraper  in  this  street ; 
and  here,  in  1688,  his  celebrated  son  was  born. 
Opposite  the  old-fashioned  gate  of  the  church  of 
St.  Edward  the  Martyr,  is  a  narrow  court  leading 
to  a  Quaker's  Meeting-House,  where  Penn  and 
Fox  frequently  preached. 

Lombard-street  derives  its  name  from  the  opu- 
lent money-lenders,  or  usurers,  who  came  out 
of  Lombardy  in  1274,  and  who  carried  on  their 
monetary  transactions  in  this  street,  from  the  reign 
of  Edward  I.  to  that  of  Elizabeth.  It  still  retains 
its  reputation  for  wealth ;  with  the  exception  of  the 
Bank  of  England,  it  contains  unquestionably  the 
most  money,  and  includes  within  its  limits  the 
richest  capitalists  and  bankers,  in  the  world.  Sir 
Thomas  Gresham,  the  princely  merchant,  and  foun- 
der of  the  Royal  Exchange,  lived  here ;  the  site, 
'No.  68,  is  now  occupied  by  a  banking  establish- 
ment. 

St.  Mary's  Aldermanbury,  was  built  by  Sir  C. 
"Wren.  Heminge  and  Condell,  the  first  editors  of 
Shakespeare ;    and  Edmund   Calamy,   are   buried 


GREAT    METROPOLIS.  203 

here.  Judge  Jeffreys,  who  died  in  1689,  was 
buried  in  a  vault  on  the  north  side  of  the  com- 
munion table.  In  1810,  when  the  church  was 
repaired,  the  coffin  was  found  still  fresh  with  the 
name  of  "  Lord  Chancellor  Jeffreys "  inscribed 
upon  it.  The  register  of  the  church  of  1656 
records  the  marriage  of  Milton  to  his  second 
wife. 

Close  to  Fish-street  Hill  is  the  Church  of  St. 
Magnus  the  Martyr,  standing  on  the  site  of  the  old 
church,  which  was  destroyed  by  the  Great  Fire  in 
1666.  The  most  illlustrious  name  connected  with 
this  church  is  that  of  Miles  Coverdale,  under 
whose  direction  the  first  complete  English  version 
of  the  Bible  was  published,  in  1535.  He  resigned 
the  rectorship  in  1666.  In  White-Hart-Couii;, 
died,  in  1690,  the  celebrated  George  Fox,  the 
father  of  the  Quakers. 

In  St.  Augustine's,  "Watling-street,  are  the  re- 
mains of  the  Rev.  K.  M.  Barham,  the  rector,  and 
author  of  the  "  Ingoldsby  Legends."  He  died  in 
1845. 

In  Coleman-street,  in  the  City,  at  a  tavern 
called  the  "  Star,"  Oliver  Cromwell  and  his  party 
used  to  convene.  Here  also  the  '^yo  members 
accused  of  treason  by  Charles  I.,  concealed  them- 
selves.     At  'No.   14,   Great-Bell-Yard,    Coleman- 


204  MEMOEIES   OF   THE 

street,  Eobert  Bloomfield,  the  poet,  carried  on  tlie 
trade  of  a  shoe-maker. 

*'  While  fields  shall  hloom, 
His  name  shall  live," 

for,  if  he  did  not  render  illustrious  the  craft  of  St. 
Crispin,  he  certainly  portrayed  pastoral  scenes 
with  all  their  native  attractions. 

We  have  now  approached  the  Royal  Exchange 
— an  ornament  of  the  British  Metropolis,  and 
one  of  the  most  splendid  modern  structures  in 
the  world.  The  munificent  Sir  Thomas  Gresham 
built  the  first  Exchange  that  London  ever  had ; 
the  foundation  stone  was  laid  in  1566,  and  the 
grand  edifice  was  completed  during  the  following 
year.  Queen  Elizabeth  jDroceeded  in  great  state 
from  her  residence,  Somerset-House,  in  the  Strand, 
to  visit  the  "  new  Bourse,"  as  it  was  then  styled. 
She  was  attended  by  many  of  the  nobility  on  the 
occasion,  and  a  sumptuous  entertainment  was  fur- 
nished to  the  illustrious  guests  by  Sir  Thomas 
Gresham,  at  his  house  in  Bishopsgate-street. 
Queen  Elizabeth  had  its  name  changed  to  "  Royal 
Exchange."  Defoe,  the  author  of  "  Robinson 
Crusoe,"  lived  many  years  at  the  east  end  of  the 
Exchange.  The  present  Royal  Exchange  was 
built  after  the  designs  of  William  Tite,  and  was 
opened  by  Queen  Victoria,  in  18M.    Its  cost  is 


Ef)e  Bonal  Eidjange. 


GREAT  METROPOLIS.  207 

stated  at  £150,000.  The  Underwriters'  establish- 
ment, Lloyd's,  occupies  the  east  end,  and  contains 
magnificent  apartments. 

Gray,  the  poet,  was  born  December  26, 1716,  in 
a  house  on  the  site  of  ITo.  41  Cornhill.  The  origi- 
nal house  was  destroyed  by  fire,  March  25th,  1748, 
and  immediately  rebuilt  by  Gray. 

No  American  tourist  will  fail  to  visit  the  !N'orth 
and  South  American  Cofl'ee  House,  in  Thread- 
needle-street,  facing  the  southern  entrance  to  the 
Koyal  Exchange.  This  is  the  great  focus  of  intel- 
ligence concerning  American  afiairs. 

In  'Change-alley  is  Garraway's  Coffee  House, 
which  is  so  widely  known  for  its  connection  with 
monetary  affairs.  D'Israeli  thus  refers  to  its  origina- 
tor : — "  Thomas  Garway,  in  Exchange-alley,  to- 
bacconist and  coffee-man,  was  the  first  who  sold 
and  retailed  tea,  recommending  it  for  the  cure  of 
all  disorders.  The  following  shop-bill  is  more 
curious  than  any  historical  account  we  have  : — 
*  Tea  in  England  hath  been  sold  in  the  leaf  for  £6 
and  sometimes  for  £10  the  pound  weight,  and  in 
respect  of  its  former  scarceness  and  dearness,  it 
hath  only  been  used  as  a  regalia  in  high  treatments 
and  entertainments,  and  presents  made  thereof  to 
princes  and  grandees  till  the  year  1357.  The  said 
Thomas  Garway  did  purchase  a  quantity  thereof, 


208  MEMOEIES   OF   THE 

and  first  publicly  sold  the  said  tea  in  leaf,  and 
drink  made  according  to  the  directions  of  the  most 
knowing  merchants  and  travellers  into  the  Eastern 
countries,  and  upon  knowledge  and  experience  of 
the  said  Garwaj's  continued  care  and  industry  in 
obtaining  the  best  tea,  and  making  tea  thereof, 
very  many  noblemen,  physicians,  merchants,  and 
gentlemen  of  quality  have  ever  sent  to  him  for  the 
said  leaf,  and  daily  resort  to  his  house  in  Exchange- 
alley  aforesaid,  to  drink  the  drink  thereof ;  and  to 
the  end  that  all  persons  of  eminence  and  quality, 
gentlemen,  and  others,  who  have  occasion  for  tea 
in  leaf  may  be  supplied,  these  are  to  give  notice, 
that  the  said  Thomas  Garway  hath  tea  to  sell  from 
sixteen  to  fifty  shillings  the  pound.' " 

ISlear  the  junction  of  Leadenhall-street  and  Corn- 
hill,  stood  one  of  the  most  ancient  taverns  in  Lon- 
don ;  it  was  called  "  The  Pope's  Head."  It  is 
stated,  that  in  the  reign  of  Henry  the  Sixth,  wine 
was  sold  at  one  penny  the  pint,  and  bread  included. 
It  stood  in  what  is  now  called  Pope's  Head-alley. 
On  the  south  side  of  Cornhill,  stands  a  church 
dedicated  to  St.  Peter — remarkable  for  being  the 
oldest  in  England.  According  to  an  inscription  on 
a  brass  plate  still  preserved  in  the  vestry,  it  was 
founded  as  early  as  the  year  of  our  Lord,  179.  We 
ought  to  mention  that  little  of  the  original  building 


GREAT  METROPOLIS.  209 

now  remains,  it  having  been  partly  destroyed  by 
the  fire  of  1666.  One  revered  name  at  least  is  as- 
sociated with  this  religious  edifice :  we  refer  to 
that  of  the  excellent  Dr.  Beveridge,  author  of  "  Pri- 
vate Thoughts  on  Eeligion," — a  work  fitted  to  the 
study  of  every  devout  mind. 

In  Threadneedle-street  is  the  South-Sea-House 
— celebrated  for  one  of  the  most  iniquitous  bubbles 
in  the  annals  of  gigantic  roguery.  In  the  Church 
of  St.  Catherine,  Leadenhall-street,  Dr.  Pearson 
first  delivered  his  famous  lectures  on  the  Creed  : 
he  died  1686.  Aldgate,  or  Oldgate,  v/as  a  gate  in 
the  City,  and  near  the  Church  of  St.  Botolph  With- 
out. According  to  Stow,  it  was  one  of  the  four 
first  gates  of  the  City.  The  old  one  was  taken 
down,  and  rebuilt  in  1017.  This  last  was  again 
taken  down  in  1761. 

The  East  India  House  was  founded  in  the  year 
1600,  and  the  present  building  was  erected  in  1800. 
For  many  years  this  Company  had  the  exclusive 
trade  with  China.  Its  first  importation  of  tea  was 
an  order  limited  to  one  hundred  pounds'  weight. 
The  government  of  the  Company's  Indian  posses- 
sions is  entrusted  to  a  viceroy  or  governor-general, 
who  resides  in  India.  The  home  afiairs  of  the 
Company  are  managed  by  a  court  of  twenty-four 
directors.    The  collection  of  Indian  idols,  paintings 


210  MEMOKIES   OF    THE 

and  curiosities  liere  assembled,  render  this  one  of 
the  most  attractive  places  of  resort  in  London. 
There  are  also  here  a  collection  of  fossils,  a  very 
rich  library  of  Oriental  MSS.,  and  several  statues 
of  the  most  eminent  servants  of  the  Company. 
Hoole,  the  translator  of  Tasso  ;  Charles  Lamb,  the 
author  of  "  Elia  ;"  and  James  Mills,  the  historian 
of  British  India ;  were  clerks  in  the  East  India 
House.  "  My  printed  works,"  said  Lamb,  "  were 
my  recreations — my  true  works  may  be  found  on 
the  shelves  in  Leadenhall-street,  filling  some  hun- 
dred folios."  It  was  here  on  one  occasion  when 
a  complaint  was  made  that  he  came  late  to  his 
office  in  the  morning,  that  Lamb  wittily  replied,  "  I 
admit  it,  but  I  leave  early  in  the  afternoon." 


2rf)c  East  Cutiia  ?^ougc. 


GREAT   METKOPOLIS.  213 


CHAPTER     IX. 

London  Stone— Anecdote  of  Jack  Cade — Cannon-street — The  Boar's  Head — 
Eastcheap— London  Bridge— Historical  Sketch  of  London  Bridge — 
Winchester  Palace— St.  Saviour's  Church— The  Ladye  Chapel— The 
Globe  Theatre— The  Bear  Gardens— Barclay  and  Perkins's  Brewery — 
The  Tabard— Bermondsey  Abbey— Guy's  Hospital— The  Monument- 
Billingsgate— St.  Michael's  Church— Church  of  St.  Mary-at-Hill— The 
Custom  House— New  Coal  Exchange— Tower  Hill,  its  Memories— The 
Tower  of  London,  its  History— The  Armory— Jewel  House— Record 
Office — Queenhithe — The  Royal  Mint. 


^T  the  junction  of  Leadenhall-street 
and  Aid  gate  is  Fenchurch-street, 
.which  leads  to  Cannon-street.  Can- 
non-street is  a  corruption  of  Candle- 
wick-street,  which  took  its  name  from  being 
formerly  the  residence  of  candlemakers.  The 
^  London  Stone,  which  is  still  to  be  seen  in  the 
■v  wall  of  St.  Swithin's  Church,  is  the  celebrated 
relic  of  the  Roman  London  Wall.  It  is  supposed 
to  have  been  a  Roman  31illiarium^  or  point  from 
which  various  distances  were  measured.  It  is  at 
least  venerable  for  age,  for  according  to  ancient 
chronicles  it  has  existed  some  fifteen  centuries.  In 
early  times  even,  it  seems  to  have  been  invested 
with  a  degree  of  sanctity,  or  religious  veneration, 
for  treaties  were  ratified  upon  it,  and  proclamations 


214  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

issued  therefrom.  Shakespeare  refers  to  it  as  such. 
London  Stone  is  one  of  the  ancient  shrines  at 
which  all  the  veritable  and  devout  antiquaries  do 
homage.  The  noted  rebel,  Jack  Cade,  in  his  pro- 
gress through  London,  is  said  to  have  halted  here, 
and  striking  this  stone  with  his  sword,  exclaimed, 
"  j^ow  is  Mortimer  lord  of  this  city,  and  here,  sit- 
ting upon  London  Stone,  I  charge  and  command 
that  of  the  City's  cost  the  Priory  conduit  run  no- 
thing but  claret  wine  this  first  year  of  our  reign, 
and  now  henceforward  it  shall  be  treason  for  any- 
one to  call  me  other  than  Lord  Mortimer."  In  old 
St.  Swithin's  Church,  Dry  den,  the  poet,  was  mar- 
ried to  Lady  Elizabeth  Howard.  In  the  reign  of 
Henry  YIL,  the  mansions  of  the  Earls  of  Oxford 
and  Dudley  stood  in  St.  Swithin's-lane.  In  New- 
court  is  the  banking  establishment  of  the  cele- 
brated Baron  Rothschild.  At  the  east  end  of  Can- 
non-street is  what  remains  of  Eastcheap,  rendered 
memorable  by  Shakspeare,  in  his  historical  drama, 
as  the  scene  of  the  revels  of  Henry  Y.,  and  that 
portly,  facetious  knight,  Falstaff.  Boar's  Head 
Tavern,  w^here  Shakspeare  makes  Falstaff  and  his 
rollicking  crew  assemble,  was  destroyed  by  the 
Great  Fire ;  it  was  afterwards  rebuilt,  and  again 
demolished  by  ruthless  hands,  to  make  space  for 
the  approach  to  'New  London  Bridge.     Johnson 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  215 

was  a  frequenter  there ;  Goldsmith  wrote  in  this 
tavern ;  and  Washington  Irving  has  an  admirable 
paper  on  it  in  his  "  Sketch  Book,"  which  latter 
must  become  the  delectation  of  every  pilgrim  to 
this  classic  site.  The  present  statue  of  William  lY. 
now  marks  the  spot  of  the  "  Boar's  Head,"  which 
was,  in  Shakspeare's  time,  "  The  Oldest  Tavern  in 
London." 

We  now  reach  London  Bridge,  a  beautiful 
structure,  perhaps  the  most  splendid  of  the  bridges 
of  the  Metropolis.  Like  the  Tower  of  London,  Old 
London  Bridge,  of  which,  however,  not  a  vestige 
now  remains,  was  an  object  of  great  historical  in- 
terest. Volumes  of  its  history  have  been  written, 
which  is  interwoven  with  the  leading  events  of 
centuries.  Its  details  are  rife  with  the  records  of 
crime  and  cruelty, — some  of  the  darkest  passages 
in  English  history.  The  following,  however,  must 
suffice  for  a  brief  outline  of  its  records : 

In  the  year  994  there  was  but  a  low  wooden 
bridge  over  the  Thames  ;  it  was  built  in  a  rude 
style,  and  connected  St.  Botolph's  Wharf  with  the 
opposite  side  of  the  Eiver.  The  first  stone  bridge 
was  erected  about  1209 — occupying  thirty- three 
years  in  construction.  It  was,  however,  shortlived, 
for  about  four  years  afterwards,  according  to  Stowe, 
it  was  destroyed  by  fire,  together  with  the  Church 
8 


216  MEMORIES    OF    THE- 

of  St.  Mary  Overy's,  and  three  thousand  persons. 
In  the  reign  of  Edward  I.  the  subsequent  bridge 
was  disfigured  by  the  heads  of  traitors — among 
them  .that  of  Sir  William  Wallace  ;  and  during  the 
reign  of  Eichard  II.  feats  of  chivalry  were  enacted, 
when  the  parapet  of  the  bridge  was  decorated  with 
rich  hangings  of  tapestry  and  cloth  of  gold.  In 
1450  Jack  Cade  and  his  associates  had  a  fierce  en- 
counter upon  this  bridge,  and  some  time  afterwards 
his  head  was  exposed  here.  On  the  Traitors'  Gate, 
in  1655,  was  placed  the  head  of  the  Bishop  of  Ro- 
chester, who  sufiered  martyrdom  for  refusing  to 
acknowledge  Henry  YIII.  as  supreme  head  of  the 
Church  of  England  ;  also,  a  month  later,  the  head 
of  Sir  Thomas  More.  His  daughter,  however,  had 
it  afterwards  buried  in  the  Eoper  family  vault,  in 
a  chapel  adjoining  St,  Dunstan's,  Canterbury.  Old 
London  Bridge,  that  one  most  celebrated  for  its 
historic  associations,  which  was  covered  with  houses, 
suffered  greatly  from  the  conflagration  of  1666. 
The  most  celebrated  edifice  that  adorned  that 
bridge  was  the  "  l^onsuch  House."  These  houses, 
according  to  Pennant,  "  overhung  and  leaned  in  a 
most  terrific  manner."  Two  fairs  are  mentioned  as 
having  taken  place  on  the  Thames,  when  it  was 
frozen  over ;  one  in  the  time  of  Charles  II.,  the 
other  in  1814. 


GREAT    METROPOLIS.  217 

Between  Bankside  and  the  soiitli  end  of  London 
Bridge,  may  yet  be  seen  part  of  the  walls  of  the 
renowned  mansion  of  the  Bishop  of  Winchester. 
It  was  originally  built  in  1107 ;  and  in  the  reign  of 
bloody  Mary,  it  was  occupied  by  Bishop  Gardiner, 
the  inhuman  persecutor  of  the  Protestants  of  that 
day.  Here  Dyer  the  poet,  and  friend  of  Sir  Philip 
Sydney,  lived  and  died.  Here  also  the  eccentric 
Sir  Kenelm  Digby  wrote  while  imprisoned  by  the 
Parliament.  One  of  the  most  interesting  religious 
edifices  of  London  is  St.  Saviour's  Church.  It  is 
of  very  remote  antiquity,  having  been,  in  early 
times,  the  Priory  of  St.  Mary  Overy.  Previous  to 
the  E'orman  conquest,  it  was  founded  by  a  maiden 
named  Mary,  the  owner  of  a  ferry  across  the 
Thames  :  its  name  is  derived  from  the  Saxon  "  over 
the  Bhe,"  having  been  modernised  to  Overy.  The 
edifice  has  been  several  times  renewed,  and  once 
or  twice  rebuilt.  It  is  cathedral-like  in  form  and 
size,  and  very  richly  decorated.  The  most  antique 
portion,  and  the  most  beautiful  also,  is  the  "  Ladye 
Chapel" — affording  matchless  specimens  of  the 
early  English  style,  as  well  "as  the  altar  screen,  with 
its  profusion  of  exquisitely  sculptured  decorations, 
its  graceful,  slender  pillars,  and  its  beautiful  groined 
roof.  Besides  its  architectural  beauties,  the  sacred 
edifice  contains  the  relics  of  many  of  the  illustrious 


218  MEMOKIES    OF   THE 

dead.  Here,  in  1397,  Gower  was  married,  by  Wil- 
liam of  Wykham,  to  his  wife  Alice,  and  here  they 
both  were  buried.  The  monument  of  the  father  of 
English  verse  is  still  a  conspicuous  object.  At  this 
church  were  also  celebrated  the  royal  nuptials  of 
James  with  the  Lady  Jane  Beaufort :  the  subse- 
quent fate  of  the  hapless  minstrel  King  of  Scotland 
is  well  known.  In  the  reign  of  Queen  Mary,  the 
sanguinary  commission  for  the  trial  of  "  heretics" 
was  held  here ;  and  among  the  illustrious  person- 
ages who  pleaded  their  cause  before  this  dreaded 
tribunal  were  the  indomitable  Bishop  Hooper  and 
John  Rogers.  Both,  however,  suffered  martyrdom, 
one  at  Gloucester,  the  other  at  Smithfield.  The 
most  striking  monument  is  that  to  the  memory  of 
the  poet  Gower :  it  is  a  rich  Gothic  shrine.  The 
monument  over  the  ashes  of  the  amiable  Bishop 
Launcelot  Andrews  is  in  the  Ladye  Chapel.  The 
dramatist,  Massinger,  is  buried  in  the  Churchyard: 
the  quaint  inscription  reads — 

"  1639 — Philip  Massinger,  Stranger." 
intimating  that  he  was  a  non-parishioner.  Another 
dramatist,  Fletcher,  also  lies  here  ;  he  was  the  son 
of  a  bishop,  and  died  of  the  plague  in  1625.  There 
are  some  curious  epitaphs  to  be  seen  here  ;  the  fol- 
lowing is  inscribed  on  the  monument  of  Kichard 
Humble,  his  two  wives  and  children  : 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  219 

"  Like  to  the  damask  rose  you  see, 

Or  like  the  blossom  on  the  tree, 

Or  like  the  dainty  flower  of  May, 

Or  like  the  morning  of  the  day ; 

Or  like  the  sun,  or  like  the  shade, 

Or  like  the  gourd  which  Jonas  had ; 
Even  so  is  man,  whose  thread  is  spun, 
Drawn  out  and  cut,  and  so  is  done ; 

The  rose  withers,  the  blossom  blasteth. 

The  flower  fades,  the  morning  hasteth. 

The  sun  sets,  the  shadow  flics. 

The  gourd  consumes,  and  man  he  dies." 

The  Globe  Theatre,  Bankside,  was  the  well- 
known  theatre  of  Shakespeare.  It  was  built  in 
1594,  and  was  of  a  hexagonal  shape  without,  and 
open  to  the  weather,  except  that  part  of  it  im- 
mediately above  the  stage,  wjiich  was  thatched. 
The  interior  was  circular.  In  1613  it  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire.  It  was  subsequently  rebuilt  "  at 
the  great  charge  of  King  James,  and  many  noble- 
men, and  others."  The  theatre  so  intimately  con- 
nected with  Shakespeare  and  the  history  of  our 
literature  was  pulled  down  in  1644. 

ISTear  the  Globe  Theatre  were  the  Bear  Gardens, 
where  Elizabeth  and  her  nobles  and  ladies  used  to 
solace  their  tender  sensibilities  with  the  elegant 
pastime  of  bear-hunting.  Two  other  early  dra- 
matists, Beaumont  and  Fletcher,  also  lived  in  this 
neighborhood;  the  mortal  remains   of  Massinger 


220  MEMORIES    OF   THE 

and  Fletcher  rest  within  the  time-honored  walls  of 
St.  Saviour's,  South wark. 

The  seven  large  casks  at  Messrs.  Barclays' 
brewery,  known  as  the  "Seven  Sisters,"  hold 
each  three  thousand  six  hundred  barrels,  or  one 
hundred  and  twenty-nine  thousand  six  hundred 
gallons,  making  in  all  nine  hundred  and  seven 
thousand  two  hundred  gallons,  and  these  are  fre- 
quently emptied  in  three  days !  The  mention  of 
Barclay  and  Perkins  at  once  reminds  us  of  the 
demonstration  recently  made  by  the  brewers  of 
malt  on  the  person  of  the  tyrant  Haynau,  and  his 
inglorious  retreat. 

Over  the  gateway  of  a  dilapidated  hostelry,  on 
the  east  side  of  Hjgh-street,  Southwark,  was  to  be 
seen  till  within  the  last  twelve  or  fourteen  years, 
the  following  inscription  :  "  This  is  the  Inne  where 
Sir  Geoifrey  Chaucer,  and  the  nine  and  twenty  pil- 
grims laye,  in  their  journey  to  Canterbury,  anno 
1383," — the  identical  "  Tabard  Inne,"  immortalised 
by  Chaucer,  and  whence  the  jovial  troop  of  pil- 
grims sallied  forth  to  perform  their  devotions  at 
the  shrine  of  St.  Thomas  a-Becket  at  Canterbury 
Cathedral.  Chaucer  thus  alludes  to  the  Tabard  : — 
"  Befell  that  in  that  season  on  that  daj^ 

In  Southwerke  at  the  Tabberd  as  I  lay, 

Ready  to  wendin  on  my  pilgrimage 

To  Canterbury, 


OEEAT   METROPOLIS.  221 

m 

The  state  array,  and  number,  and  the  cause. 
Why  that  assembled  was  this  companie 
In  Southwerke,  at  this  gentil  hostelrie, 
That  hight,  The  Tabbarde,  faste  by  the  Belle." 

South-east  of  London  Bridge  once  stood  Ber- 
mondsey  Abbey,  founded  in  1082.  Within  its 
walls  Katherine,  widow  of  Henry  Y.,  sought  an 
asylum  from  the  cares  of  the  world,  and  here  she 
ultimately  breathed  her  last :  as  did  also  Elizabeth 
"Woodville,  widow  of  Edward  lY.  Her  memorable 
story — the  tale  of  her  romantic  marriage,  the  mys- 
terious fate  of  her  children  in  the  Tower,  and  her 
own  intrigues  against  Kichard  III.,  are  well  known. 

Thomas  Guy,  the  founder  of  the  Hospital  named 
after  him,  was  the  son  of  a  lighterman  of  Horsley- 
down,  and  born  in  1644.  He  was  brought  up  to 
the  business  of  a  bookseller,  and  enjoyed  a  lucra- 
tive trade  by  dealing  largely  in  the  importation  of 
Bibles  from  Holland,  and  afterwards  contracting 
with  Oxford  for  those  printed  at  that  University ; 
but  his  principal  gains  arose  from  the  disreputable 
purchase  of  seamen's  prize  tickets,  and  jobbing  in 
South  Sea  stock.  By  these  means,  joined  to  most 
penurious  habits,  he  amassed  a  fortune  of  nearly 
half  a  million  sterling,  of  which  he  spent  about 
£200,000  in  building  and  endowing  the  Hospital 
in  Southwark,  which  bears  his  name. 


222  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

Returning  over  London  Bridge  the  first  object 
that  prominently  arrests  our  attention  is  the  Monu- 
ment. 

The  Monument,  erected  in  commemoration  of 
the  Great  Fire,  is  a  fluted  column  over  two  hun- 
dred feet  high,  and  is  ascended  by  an  interior 
staircase.  The  Urn  on  the  top  is  forty-five  feet 
in  height.  In  the  days  when  Titus  Gates  inspired 
such  terror  of  the  Papists,  an  inscription  was 
placed  on  the  pedestal,  ascribing  the  origin  of  the 
fire  of  1666  to  Popish  influence ;  this,  however, 
has  been  satirised  in  the  well-known  lines  of 
Pope : 

"  Where  London's  Column,  pointing-  to  the  skies, 
Like  a  tall  bully  lifts  its  head  and  lies." 

Some  half  a  dozen  persons  have  adopted  the 
expedient  of  terminating  their  existence  by  a  leap 
from  the  top  of  the  Monument ;  the  latest  instance 
was  that  of  a  girl  of  seventeen,  who  precipitated 
herself  from  the  dizzy  height,  August,  1842. 

Passing  up  Thames-street — narrow,  dark,  and 
dingy — we  come  in  view  of  Billingsgate — one  of 
the  ancient  water-gates,  or  ports  of  London.  It  is 
situate  between  the  Custom-House  and  London 
Bridge.  According  to  antiquarians,  it  has  derived 
its  name  from  Belin,  King  of  the  Britons,  who 


GREAT  METEOPOLIS.  223 

flourished  about  450  B.  C.  The  toll-rates  in 
Saxon  days,  were,  for  small  crafts,  one  half-penny  ; 
large  boats,  with  sails,  one  penny ;  ships,  four 
pennies.  It  has  been  subsequently  "  a  free  mar- 
ket for  all  manner  of  floating  and  shell-fish." 
Fish-street  Hill  is  adjacent,  and  also  Friday-street 
— on  Friday  was  the  great  fish-sale  in  Catholic 
times ;  they  retain  their  names  from  this  circum- 
stance. Many  of  the  churches  erected  by  Sir 
Christopher  Wren  are  in  this  vicinity  ;  among  the 
number,  that  of  St.  Michael.  In  the  church-yard 
was  to  be  seen  the  following  quaint  laconic 
epitaph  : 

"  Here  lieth,  wrapt  in  clay, 

The  body  of  William  Wray: 

I  have  no  more  to  say  !" 

In  the  church  of  St.  Mary  at  Hill,  Billingsgate, 
Dr.  Young,  the  poet,  was  married ;  and  beneath 
the  chancel,  Brand,  the  author  of  "The  Popular 
Antiquities,"  is  interred  :  he  was  rector  of  this 
church.  The  ISTew  Coal  Exchange  stands  oppo- 
site :  the  annual  value  of  coal  imported  into  Lon- 
don is  about  £4,000,000  sterling  ! 

The   long   stone  edifice  known  as  the  Custom 

House  is  worthy  of  note,  especially  on  account  of 

its   "  Long   Eoom,"   which   measures   nearly   two 

hundred   feet   in   length.      It    is    estimated    that 

8* 


224  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

nearly  one  half  tlie  Customs  of  the  United  King- 
dom are  here  collected  ;  those  received  at  the  Port 
of  London  averaging  about  £20,000,000  sterling.  It 
was  on  the  Quay  fronting  the  Custom  House  that 
the  melancholy  Cowper  once  contemplated  suicide. 

The  Tower  of  London — the  most  ancient  of  its 
edifices — with  its  grim  battlements  and  frowning 
towers,  now  looms  in  view.  Of  Tower  Hill  we 
have  a  few  things  to  note  by  the  way. 

William  Penn  was  born  in  the  parish  of  St. 
Catherine,  Tower  Hill,  on  the  14th  of  October, 
1644.  He  was  subsequently  twice  imprisoned  in 
the  Tower  for  his  religious  opinions.  During  the 
time  that  her  husband  was  a  prisoner  in  the  Tower 
we  find  Lady  Raleigh  fixing  her  residence  on  Tower 
Hill.  In  Little  Tower-street,  Thomson  was  residing 
in  1726  ;  and  here  he  wrote  part  of  his  "  Seasons," 
— Summer.  On  the  west  side  of  Tower  Hill  is  the 
ancient  church  of  Allhallows,  Barking.  Hither 
were  conveyed  the  headless  remains  of  more  than 
one  illustrious  person  after  decapitation.  This 
antique  edifice  stands  on  the  spot,  if  it  does  not  in- 
deed include  part  of  the  church  founded  by  Pichard 
Coeur  de  Lion.  It  has  been  the  favorite  resort  of 
successive  princes  ;  among  others,  Edward  the  First 
was  accustomed  here  to  offer  his  devotions.  "When 
he  was  Prince  of  Wales,  it  is  recorded,  that,  assured 


Custom  ?L|ousc. 


GEEAT    METEOPOLIS.  227 

by  a  vision  that  he  should  be  victorious  over  all 
nations,  on  condition  that  he  should  erect  an  image 
to  the  Yirgin,  and  pay  his  adorations  to  her  there, 
five  times  every  year — the  superstitious  prince  re- 
ligiously obeyed  the  injunctions  of  the  vision  ;  and 
when  subsequently  one  military  success  followed 
another,  "  Our  Ladye  of  Barking"  grew  into  such 
great  repute,  that  pilgrims  flocked  to  her  shrine 
with  rich  presents  from  all  parts  of  England. 

Eichard  the  Third  restored  this  chapel,  and  found- 
ed a  college ;  this  latter,  however,  was  suppressed 
in  1548. 

Tower  Hill  is  rife  with  many  a  mournful  memory. 
It  was  here  the  wise  and  witty  Sir  Thomas  More ; 
the  great  Protector,  Duke  of  Somerset ;  the  accom- 
plished Earl  of  Surrey  ;  the  lofty  Strafford  ;  the  ve- 
nerable Laud ;  the  patriot  Sidney ;  and  the  gay  and 
graceful  Duke  of  Monmouth,  forfeited  their  lives, 
as  well  as  numerous  other  distinguished  personages 
whose  names  figure  prominently  on  the  scroll  of 
English  history.  Among  a  host  of  scarcely  less 
illustrious  characters  who  perished  by  the  hand  of 
the  executioner  on  Tower  Hill,  may  be  mentioned 
Edward  Plantagenet,  Earl  of  Warwick,  son  of  the 
false  and  perjured  Clarence ;  the  handsome  and  ac- 
complished adventurer,  Perkin  "Warbeck ;  the  gallant 
Sir  William  Stanley,  who  placed  the  crown  on  the 


228  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

head  of  Henry  the  Seventh,  on  the  field  of  Bosworth  ; 
the  powerful  Edward  Staiford,  Duke  of  Buckingham ; 
Thomas  Cromwell,  Earl  of  Essex,  the  successor  of 
Wolsey  in  the  favor  of  Henr j  the  Eighth  ;  George 
Lord  Rochford,  brother  of  Anne  Boleyn  ;  Margaret, 
Countess  of  Salisbury,  mother  of  Cardinal  Pole ; 
the  ambitious  Lord  Seymour  of  Sudeley,  uncle  to 
Edward  the  Sixth,  and  brother  to  the  Protector 
Somerset ;  the  turbulent  John  Dudley,  Duke  of 
J^orthumberland  ;  Sir  Thomas  Wyatt ;  Lord  Guild- 
ford Dudley,  the  husband  of  Lady  Jane  Grey ;  her 
father,  Henry  Grey,  Duke  of  Suffolk ;  Thomas  How- 
ard, Duke  of  E^orfolk,  the  ambitious  lover  of  Mary 
Queen  of  Scots  ;  the  crafty  visionary.  Sir  Henry 
Yane ;  William  Howard,  Earl  of  Stafford,  condemn- 
ed on  the  false  evidence  of  Titus  Gates  ;  Sir  John 
Eenwick  ;  the  gallant  Charles  Radcliffe,  brother  of 
the  Earl  of  Derwentwater  ;  and  lastly,  the  infamous 
Simon  Eraser,  Lord  Lovat. 

But  it  is  not  entirely  from  the  illustrious  blood 
with  which  it  has  been  drenched,  that  Tower  Hill 
derives  its  interest.  Here,  at  a  cutler's  stall,  the 
assassin  Felton  purchased  the  knife  which  cut  short 
the  life  of  the  Duke  of  Buckingham  ;  and  here  at 
the  sign  of  the  "  Bull,"  died,  in  extreme  poverty, 
the  unfortunate  dramatic  poet,  Thomas  Gtway:  — 
"  He  died,"  says  Dr.  Johnson,  "  in  a  manner  I   am 


GKEAT    ]VIETKOPOLIS.  229 

unwilling  to  mention.  Having  been  compelled  by 
his  necessities  to  contract  debts,  and  bunted,  as  is 
supposed,  by  the  terriers  of  the  law,  he  retired  to  a 
public  house  on  Tower  Hill,  where  he  is  said  to 
have  died  of  want ;  or,  as  it  is  related  by  one  of  his 
biographers,  by  swallowing,  after  a  long  fast,  a 
piece  of  bread  which  charity  had  supplied.  He 
went  out,  as  is  reported,  almost  naked,  in  the  rage 
of  hunger,  and  finding  a  gentleman  in  a  neighbor- 
ing Coffee  House,  asked  him  for  a  shilling ;  and 
Otway,  going  away  bought  a  roll,  and  was  choked 
with  the  first  mouthful."  Such,  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
three,  is  said  to  have  been  the  fate  of  the  author  of 
"  Venice  Preserved." 

Let  us  now  take  a  brief  survey  of  the  Tower : 
this  ancient  pile,  once  the  bulwark  of  London,  as 
well  as  the  prison-house  of  its  secret  crimes,  has 
been  alternately  the  residence  and  prison  of  royal 
and  noble  personages  for  a  thousand  years. 

"William  the  Conqueror  built  that  portion  of  the 
Tower  of  London  known  as  the  White  Tower.  The 
history  of  this  notable  structure  is  rife  with  events 
of  thrilling  interest.  As  a  palace  and  a  prison  it  is 
more  memorable  than  as  a  fortress.  The  historic 
details  of  the  Tower,  indeed,  form  a  prominent  fea- 
ture in  many  chapters  of  the  history  of  England, 
and  we  can  scarcely  venture  even  to  refer  to  them 


230  MEMORIES   OF  THE 

by  name.  While  the  barons  were  waiting  for  the 
royal  signature  to  the  Magna  Charta,  the  Tower 
was  held  in  trust  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 
During  the  victorious  reign  of  Edward  III.,  among 
its  illustrious  inmates  were  the  crowned  heads  of 
France  and  Scotland.  It  was  also  within  its  dread- 
ed walls  that  the  conference  was  held  by  Eichard  II. 
and  the  leaders  of  the  insurrection  of  Gloucester, 
and  the  Tower  was  vigorously  besieged  in  the  san- 
guinary conflicts  of  the  Houses  of  York  and  Lan- 
caster ;  while  during  the  civil  war,  it  was  succes- 
sively occupied  by  the  contending  parties.  From 
the  Tower,  too,  Eoyal  processions  and  ])ageants 
usually  proceeded,  as  late  as  the  times  of  James  11. 
Among  the  most  costly  of  these  may  be  mentioned 
the  coronation  pageants  of  the  haughty  Elizabeth 
and  the  profligate  Charles.  It  was  in  a  cell  on  the 
first  floor  of  the  White  Tower  that  Sir  Walter  Ea- 
leigh,  it  is  said,  wrote  his  "  History  of  the  World." 
On  the  interior  of  the  walls  of  this  Tower  are  still 
to  be  seen  the  melancholy  mementos  of  terrible 
sufferings.  One  of  the  most  affecting  is  that  of  a 
hapless  lady,  who  records  the  sad  story  of  her 
twelve  years'  incarceration — it  is  signed  A.  W. ;  an 
inscription  over  the  door-way  of  the  cell  reads  as 
follows :  "  lie  that  indureth  to  the  ende  shall  be 
saved.      M.    10.    E.   Evdston    Dar    Kent.   ano. 


STfje  SToincr  of  ILontron, 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  233 

1553 ;"  and  yet  another,  "  Be  faithful  nnto  the 
deth  and  I  will  give  the  a  crowne  of  life.  T. 
Fane,  1554;"  and  beneath  it,  "T.  Culpepper  of 
Darford." 

The  Chapel  erected  in  the  reign  of  Edward  I., 
and  dedicated  to  St.  Peter  and  Yincula,  possesses 
great  interest,  from  its  being  the  cemetery  where 
so  many  noble  and  worthy  personages  at  last  found 
repose  after  suffering  from  the  cruelties  of  the 
tyrant  Henry  YIII.  The  gentle  Anne  Boleyn  slept 
here,  beside  her  noble  brother  Lord  Richford ;  also 
Cromwell,  Earl  of  Essex,  and  Sir  Thomas  More. 

The  Tower  has  been  designated  by  the  poet 

Gray,  as — 

"  London's  lasting  shame 
With  many  a  foul  and  midnight  murder  fed." 

How  many  have  been  the  noble  and  heroic  victims 
of  state  intolerance,  cupidity,  and  mistaken  zeal ! 
One  of  these  was  the  martyred  Ticheborne,  who, 
though  he  refused  to  connect  himself  with  the  con- 
spiracy for  the  assassination  of  Elizabeth,  yet  fell  a 
sacrifice  to  suspicion.  His  pathetic  verses  penned 
just  prior  to  his  execution,  are  as  follow  : 

"  My  prime  of  youth  is  but  a  frost  of  oares, 
My  feast  of  joy  is  but  a  dish  of  pain, 
My  crop  of  corn  is  but  a  field  of  tares, 

And  all  my  goods  are  but  vain  hopes  of  gain. 


234  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

The  day  is  fled,  and  yet  I  saw  the  sun, 
And  now  I  live,  and  now  my  life  is  done. 

"  My  spring  is  past,  and  yet  it  hath  not  sprung, 
The  fruit  is  dead,  and  yet  the  leaves  are  green  j 
My  youth  is  past  and  yet  I  am  but  young, 

I  saw  the  world,  and  I  was  not  seen : 
My  thread  is  cut,  and  yet  it  is  not  spun. 
And  now  I  live,  and  now  my  life  is  done." 

The  principal  parts  of  the  Tower  usually  in- 
spected by  visitors,  are  the  Armory,  containing 
equestrian  figures  in  armor,  from  the  reign  of  Ed- 
ward I.  to  James  II. ;  Queen  Elizabeth's  Armory, 
which  is  situated  in  the  "White  Tower,  and  was  the 
prison  of  Sir  Walter  Kaleigh  and  others,  during 
the  reign  of  Queen  Mary  ;  the  "  Regalia,"  or  royal 
jewels,  contained  in  another  apartment,  are  esti- 
mated at  three  millions  sterling.  St.  Edward's 
Crown  was  made  for  the  coronation  of  Charles  II., 
and  has  been  since  used  at  the  coronation  of  all  the 
Sovereigns  of  Great  Britain  since  that  period  to 
our  days.  This  Crown  is  identically  the  same  that 
Blood  stole  from  the  Tower,  May  9,  1671.  The 
new  crown  made  for  the  coronation  of  Queen  Yic- 
toria,  is  a  purple  velvet  cap,  enclosed  by  hoops  of 
silver,  and  studded  with  a  great  quantity  of  dia- 
monds.   The  upper  part  is  composed  of  an  orb, 


GEEAT   METKOPOLIS.  235 

adorned  with  precious  stones,  and  surmounted  by 
a  cross.  Amongst  these  diamonds  is  a  magnificent 
ruby,  worn  by  the  Black  Prince,  and  a  sapphire  of 
matchless  beauty.  The  value  of  this  crown  is  cal- 
culated at  £111,900.  Think  of  a  space  of  two 
feet  square  representing  property  to  the  value  of 
$15,000,000.  These  are  magnificent  baubles  to 
gaze  upon,  but  what  vast  benefit  might  be  con- 
ferred upon  the  poor  Spitalfields  weavers  were  this 
amount  devoted  to  their  urgent  necessities!  In 
the  Eecord  Office  are  kept  the  rolls  from  the  time 
of  King  John  to  the  reign  of  Richard  III. 

At  Queenhithe  lived  Tom  Hill,  as  he  was  fami- 
liarly called.  He  died  in  1840.  This  singular 
character,  when  in  business  at  the  unlettered  Queen- 
hithe, found  leisure  to  accumulate  a  fine  collection 
of  books,  chiefly  old  poetry ;  which  afterwards, 
when  misfortune  overtook  him,  was  valued  at 
£6000.  Hill  was  like  a  Msecenas  ;  he  patronised 
two  friendless  poets,  Bloomfield  and  Kirke  White. 
"  The  Farmer's  Boy  "  of  the  former  was  read  and  ad- 
mired by  him  in  manuscript,  and  was  recommended 
to  a  publisher.  Hill  also  established  the  "  Month- 
ly Mirror,"  to  which  Kirke  White  was  a  contribu- 
tor. Hill  was  the  Hull  of  Hook's  "  Gilbert  Gurney." 
He  hapi^ened  to  know  everything  that  was  going 
on  in  all  circles. 


236  MEMOEIES   OF  THE 

East  Smitlifield  was  the  birthplace  of  Spencer, 
author  of  "  The  Faerie  Queene." 

The  Kojal  Mint,  on  Tower  Hill,  is  worthy  of  a 
visit  on  account  of  the  various  ingenious  processes 
connected  with  coining  which  are  carried  on  in  that 
establishment.  Sixty  or  seventy  sixpences  are 
struck  in  one  minute,  and  other  coins  with  similar 
rapidity.  The  present  master  of  the  Mint  is  Sir  G. 
W.  Herschel,  the  astronomer ;  Sir  Isaac  ITewton 
once  held  the  same  office. 


% 


GEEAT  METROPOLIS. 


237 


CHAPTER     X. 

Street  Organists— The  Thames  Tunnel— London  Docks — Deptford  and  Wool- 
wich— Greenwich  Hospital — Crutched  Friars — The  Minories — Lord 
Cobham— East  Smithfield— Ratclifte  Highway — Aldgate— Whitechapel 
— Bishopsgate-street— Crosby  Hall— St.  Giles's,  Cripplegate — Barbican 
— Moorfields  —  Finsbury-square  —  Bunhill  Fields — Battle-bridge — Old  St. 
Pancras  —  Islington  —  Canonbury  House — Collins's  House  —  Charles 
Lamb's  Cottage— Chalk  Farm — St.  James's  Chapel— Hampstead — Ken- 
Bal  Green  Cemetery — Highgate — Harrow-onthe-Hill — Aylesbury -street, 
Clerken well— Anecdote  of  Thomas  Britton  —  Old-street-road  —  St.  Bo- 
tolph's  Church— Little  Britain  and  its  booksellers — The  Post  Office. 


E    introduce    our    itinerant 

organist    in    this     part    of 

the  Citj  to  the  reader,  not 

because  this  class  of  noisy 

street    musicians     is    more 

numerous  in  any  particular 

district,  they  abound  in  all 

the  streets  of  the  Metropolis. 

But  let  us  say  a  word  or 

two  respecting  the  Thames 

and  its  memories. 

Queen  Elizabeth  died  at  Kichmond,  and  her 

body  was  broughf  with  great  pomp  by  water  to 

Whitehall.    The  following  far-fetched  conceit  is  .by 

a  quaint  contemporary  poet : — 


238  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

"  The  Queen  was  brought  by  water  to  Whitehall : 
At  every  stroke  the  oars  did  tears  let  fall : 
More  clung  about  the  barge ;  fish  under  water 
Wept  out  their  eyes  of  pearl,  and  swam  blind  after." 

Cowley  died  at  Chertsey,  on  the  Thames,  and  his 
body  was  carried  by  water  to  "Whitehall ;  Pope,  in 
his  "  Windsor  Forest,"  thus  refers  to  it : — 

"  Oh,  early  lost !  what  tears  the  river  shed 
When  the  sad  pomp  along  his  banks  was  led." 

]N"elson's  body  was  brought  in  great  state  by  wa- 
ter from  Greenwich  to  Whitehall.  State  prisoners, 
committed  from  the  Council  Chamber  to  the  Tower 
or  the  Fleet,  were  invariably  taken  by  water.  The 
Thames,  that  carried,  in  the  reign  of  James  II., 
the  seven  bishops  to  the  Tower,  was  made  the 
repository  of  the  Great  Seal  of  England,  which 
James,  in  his  flight,  threw  into  the  river,  while 
crossing  in  a  small  boat  from  Millbank  to  Lambeth. 
It  was  accidentally  fished  up  a  few  months  after. 

The  Thames  Tunnel,  which  is  regarded  as  a 
triumph  of  skill  rather  than  as  a  work  of  real  utility, 
is  yet  an  object  of  especial  interest  to  the  lovers  of 
the  marvellous.  The  Tunnel  is  one  thousand  three 
hundred  feet  in  length,  with  two  arched  passages 
of  massive  brick- work,  sixteen  fe^et  four  inches  wide 
each,  and  a  path  of  three  feet  wide  for  foot-passen- 
gers. 


GREAT  METEOPOLIS.  239 

The  London  Docks  are  among  the  marvels  of 
the  Metropolis,  also  the  Dockyards  of  Deptford 
and  "Woolwich.  The  military  establishment  at  the 
latter  town  affords  accommodation  for  four  thou- 
sand men.  The  area  of  the  Arsenal  includes  no  less 
than  twenty-four  thousand  pieces  of  ordnance,  and 
three  millions  of  cannon  balls,  piled  up  in  huge 
pyramids.  Greenwich  Hospital,  a  splendid  edifice, 
occupying  a  terrace  of  eight  hundred  feet,  is  an  asy 
lum  for  disabled  seamen  ;  it  is  of  remote  origin 
having  been  a  royal  residence  as  early  as  1300 
The  astronomical  observatory,  on  Greenwich  Hill 
from  which  longitudes  are  reckoned,  was  founded 
by  Charles  H.  Henry  YH.  resided  much  at  the 
palace  of  Greenwich,  and  here  his  son  and  succes- 
sor was  bom.  Edward  YI.  ended  his  short  reign  at 
Greenwich ;  Queens  Mary  and  Elizabeth  were  both 
born  here,  and  the  latter  selected  it  as  her  favorite 
summer  residence.  Charles  H.  commenced  the 
erection  of  the  present  palace,  and  in  the  year  1696 
Sir  Christopher  Wren  enlarged  and  completed  it. 
The  most  noble  apartment  is  the  Great  Hall, 
which  is  adorned  with  the  paintings  of  Sir  James 
Thornhill.  There  is  an  incident  related  of  this  emi- 
nent artist  which  may  not  be  familiar  to  the  reader. 
During  the  progress  of  his  splendid  painting  of  the 
ceiling,  a  visitor  on  one  occasion  ascended  the  plat- 


240  MEMORIES    OF   THE 

form  ;  and  while  in  the  act  of  indicating  its  beauties, 
the  artist  kept  receding,  in  order  to  judge  of  the 
effect  of  the  painting,  till  at  length  he  reached  to 
the  very  verge  of  the  scaffolding.  Seeing  his  immi- 
nent peril,  his  friend  instantly  caught  the  paint- 
brush, and  rushing  forward,  daubed  the  picture. 
The  act  startled  the  painter,  and  hastily  drew 
him  from  the  spot,  which  saved  his  life.  The  num- 
ber of  Greenwich  pensioners  is  about  three 
thousand.  They  seem  to  have  a  pleasant  time  of 
it,  having  nothing  to  do  but  to  smoke  their  pipes, 
and  rehearse  long  yarns  to  each  other  of  their  early 
exploits.  ISTelson  is  the  tutular  deity ;  and  if  they 
are  dismembered  of  a  limb,  they  exhibit  the 
wooden  stump  as  a  trophy  of  their  heroism.  The 
revenue  of  Greenwich  Hospital  is  stated  at 
£130,000.  The  view  from  Greenwich  Park  is  most 
magnificent.  Here  the  river  is  very  wide,  and 
sinuous  in  its  course  till  it  reaches  the  City,  which 
bounds  the  picture  on  the  west.  One-Tree  Hill  is  a 
bold  projection  in  Greenwich  Park,  from  which  the 
eye  rests  upon  clumps  of  rich  foliage,  deep  hollows, 
and  embowering  dells.  This  park  is  of  sylvan 
beauty,  and  one  of  the  great  pleasure  resorts  of  the 
Londoners.  We  must  now,  however,  transport  the 
reader  back  again  to  the  City,  as  we  have  many 
things  of  note  yet  to  indicate,  which  claim  our  notice. 


GEEAT    METROPOLIS.  241 

We  recommence  our  street  wanderings  with 
Seething-lane,  anciently  Sidon-lane,  In  former 
times,  several  distinguished  personages  resided 
here ;  among  others,  Pepys.  Crutched  Friars,  or 
Crossed  Friars,  is  so  called  from  the  brotherhood 
founded  about  1300,  and  styled  Fratres  Sanctce 
Crucis.  The  members  of  this  order  were  decorat- 
ed with  a  red  cross  on  their  garments,  and  carried 
an  iron  one  in  their  hand.  To  the  west  of  Mark- 
lane  and  Crutched  Friars  is  the  Minories,  once 
occupied  by  J^uns  of  the  Order  of  St.  Clair.  A 
convent  was  founded  here  in  1293.  This  edifice 
subsequently  became  the  residence  of  the  unfortu- 
nate Duke  of  Suffolk,  who  was  beheaded  for  his 
attempt  to  raise  his  daughter.  Lady  Jane  Gray,  to 
the  throne. 

It  was  in  a  wretched  hovel  in  the  Minories  that 
Lord  Cobham,  once  the  possessor  of  a  princely 
fortune,  and  the  last  descendant  of  an  illustrious 
race,  closed  his  life  in  poverty.  Having  been 
sentenced  to  death  with  Lord  Grey,  of  Wilton,  for 
their  participation  in  the  alleged  conspiracy  of  Sir 
Walter  Ealeigh,  they  were  led  to  the  scaffold, 
without  any  apparent  prospect  of  a  reprieve. 
Almost  at  the  moment,  however,  when  they  were 
about  to  lay  their  heads  upon  the  block,  the  intel- 
ligence came  that  their  lives  were  spared.     Lord 


242  MEMORIES    OF   THE 

Grey  died  in  prison,  and  his  ill-fated  companion  in 
the  miserable  tenement  of  his  former  laundress. 
His  wife.  Lady  Cobham,  although  living  in 
affluence  at  the  time,  is  said  to  have  refused  him 
the  means  of  procuring  a  crust  of  bread  or  a  clean 
shirt !  Eastward  from  the  Minories  (which  we 
might  mention,  in  passing,  is  now  occupied  by 
Jews  and  dealers  in  second-hand  clothes,)  is  Good- 
man's Fields,  the  site  of  a  Koman  burial-place — 
which  derives  its  name  from  one  Goodman,  who 
owned  the  estate  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth. 
The  celebrated  tragedian,  David  Garrick,  performed 
at  the  theatre  in  this  vicinity,  before  crowded 
audiences  of  the  Ijeau  monde.  Crossing  Rosemary- 
lane,  we  pass  into  East-Smithfield :  here  it  is  that 
Edmund  Spenser,  the  poet,  first  saw  the  light. 

From  East-Smithfield  we  pass  into  the  ancient 
village  of  Ratcliffe-Highway,  so  named  in  conse- 
quence of  the  red  cliff  which  was  once  visible  there. 
In  1814,  this  place  was  rendered  notorious  as  being 
the  scene  of  the  fearful  massacre  of  the  Marr  and 
Williamson  families  which,  at  the  time,  spread 
consternation  throughout  the  metropolis,  never  sur- 
passed by  any  similar  atrocities.  These  families 
were  murdered  at  midnight,  and  the  perpetrators 
of  the  crimes  were  never  detected.  linear 
Aldgate  Pump   lived    the    renowned     antiquary. 


GREAT   METEOPOLIS.  243 

Stowe,  the  historian  of  the  metropolis.  D'ls- 
raeli  says  of  him  :— "  His  stupendous  collections 
in  his  own  hand-writing  still  exist,  to  provoke  the 
feeble  industry  of  modern  literary  loiterers."  Spen- 
ser was  accustomed  to  repair  to  the  library  of  the 
great  literary  antiquary ;  yet  in  the  latter  part  of 
his  life  so  reduced  was  he  in  his  circumstances, 
that  he  had  to  petition  James  I.  for  "  a  license 
to  collect  alms  for  himself,"  as  a  recompense  for 
his  forty-five  years'  labor  and  travel  in  collecting 
the  chronicles  of  England,  and  eight  years  in 
making  the  survey  of  the  City  of  London.  He  died 
in  1605,  at  the  age  of  eighty,  and  was  buried  in 
the  neighboring  church  of  St.  Andrew  Undershaft 
Adjoining  Aldgate  is  Whitechapel,  with  its  Church 
of  St.  Mary  Mat-felon.  In  this  churchyard  was 
buried  Richard  Brandon,  the  reputed  executioner 
of  Charles  the  First.  Beneath  a  house  at  the 
south-east  corner  of  Leadenhall-stfeet  may  be  seen 
the  remains  of  the  once  magnificent  Priory  of  the 
Holy  Trinity.  Of  the  lordly  prior  of  this  monas- 
tery, Stowe  says,  "  He  kept  a  most  beautiful  house 
of  meat  and  drink,  both  for  rich  and  poor,  as  well 
within  the  house  as  at  the  gates,  to  all  comers,  ac- 
cording to  their  estates." 

Bishopsgate-street  derives  its  name  from  one  of 
the  ancient  city  gates,  said  to  have  been  originally 
9 


244  MEMORIES    OF   THE 

built  in  680,  by  Erkenwald,  Bishop  of  London. 
Till  recently,  several  antique  bouses  existed  in  this 
locality,  of  which  but  two  or  three  remain.  Crosby 
Hall,  a  well-known  and  beautiful  relic  of  antiquity, 
is  situated  in  Crosby  Place,  near  by;  It  was  in 
this  Hall  Sir  Thomas  More  wrote  "  Utopia,"  and 
here  the  great  Sully  lodged  for  a  time.  Crosby 
Hall  is  all  that  remains  of  an  ancient  magnificent 
palace,  once  the  residence  of  Richard  HI.  Al- 
though four  centuries  old,  the  splendid  roof  and 
windows  of  this  glorious  old  mansion  are  as  fresh  as 
«ver.  Sir  Thomas  Gresham,  the  founder  of  the 
Royal  Exchange,  occupied  a  noble  mansion  in 
Crosby  Place.  At  his  death  it  was  converted  into 
a  college,  which  he  endowed.  This  wealthy  knight 
is  said  to  have  possessed  no  less  a  sum  than 
£236,000.  He  was  liberal  as  he  was  rich,  having 
given  at  one  time  towards  the  repairs  of  St.  Paul's 
£19,000  !  To  thi&  east  of  Crosby-square  stands  the 
ancient  church  of  St.  Helen's  the  Great.  The  inte- 
rior of  this  remarkable  church  is  more  picturesque 
than  the  exterior.  It  abounds  with  altar-tombs 
more  than  any  other  church  in  London.  These 
monuments  are  singularly  interesting,  as  affording 
glimpses  both  of  the  sculpture  and  customs  of  the 
15th,  16th,  and  lYth  centuries.  Sir  Thomas  Gres- 
ham's  monument  is  among  the  number.     The  in- 


GKEAT    METROPOLIS.  245 

scription  is  remarkable  for  its  simplicity,  recording 
merely  the  name  of  the  deceased,  and  the  date  of 
his  birth  and  death.  St.  Giles's  Church,  Cripple- 
gate,  which  was  founded  in  1030,  is  situated  just 
without  the  London  Wall,  of  which  a  portion  remains 
on  the  south  side  of  the  churchyard.  For  many 
years  the  exact  resting-place  of  Milton  was  undisco- 
vered ;  but  tradition  has,  notwithstanding,  the  faith- 
ful record,  which  is  corroborated  by  the  entry  of 
the  parish  register,  which  is  as  follows : — "  12th 
I^ovember,  1674,  John  Milton,  gentleman,  con- 
sumption, chancell."  On  the  4th  of  August,  1790, 
a  search  was  made  for  the  remains  of  the  great 
poet,  and  his  coffin  was  found  under  the  spot  indi- 
cated. Cripplegate  i-s  memorable  for  its  great 
antiquity  and  historical  associations  ;  and  also  on 
account  of  the  many  illustrious  personages  who 
have  been  buried  within  its  walls ;  among  their 
number,  John  Fox,  the  Martyrologist,  who  died 
1587.  It  was  at  the  altar  of  this  church  that 
Oliver  Cromwell  was  married  to  Elizabeth  Bour- 
chier.  In  Jerome-street  Chapel  is  preserved  John 
Bunyan's  Pulpit.  Milton's  reconciliation  with  his 
first  wife  took  place  at  his  house  in  Barbican,  in 
1646.  The  name  is  said  to  have  derived  its  origin 
from  the  ancient  Burgh-Kenning,  or  watch  tower, 
which  formerly  stood  near  Aldersgate. 


246  MEJtIOEIES    OF   THE 

Passing  on  to  Mooriields,  we  reach  Finsbury- 
square.  In  the  time  of  Pepjs,  and  even  as  far 
back  as  the  12th  century,  this  was  the  favorite 
place  of  recreation  for  the  citizens  of  London. 
The  pastimes  of  those  days  are  graphically  de- 
scribed in  the  "  Fortunes  of  Nigel."  This  locality 
derives  its  name  from  the  great  fen  or  moor  which 
watered  the  City  on  the  north.  Arrangements  are 
now  made  for  completing  the  purchase  of  one  hun- 
dre'd  and  fifty  acres  for  Finsbury  Park,  at  a  cost  of 
£150,000.  Adjoining  Finsbury- square,  in  Artillery 
Place,  Bunhill-row,  is  the  house  in  which  Milton 
completed  his  "  Paradise  Lost,"  and  in  which  he 
breathed  his  last,  in  1671.  We  learn  from  Phillips, 
his  biographer  and  nephew,  that,  in  summer  wea- 
ther, the  great  poet  used  to  sit  at  the  door  of  his 
house,  in  a  coarse  gray  cloak,  to  enjoy  the  fresh  air, 
and  in  this  manner  he  received  the  visits  of  per- 
sons of  rank  and  genius.  On  the  west  side  of  the 
Artillery  Ground  may  be  seen  Bunhill-fields — one 
of  the  sacred  spots  of  earth,  in  which  lie  clustered 
the  remains  of  the  great  and  good  of  past  days. 
It  is  called,  technically,  the  "  Dissenters'  Burying 
Ground."  "  Honest  John  Bunyan  ;"  Dr.  Watts  ; 
Dr.  Goodwin,  who  attended  Cromwell  on  his  death- 
bed ;  George  Fox,  the  founder  of  the  Quakers ; 
De  Foe,  the  author  of  "  Kobinson  Crusoe ;"  Dunton, 


GREAT   METEOPOLIS.  *  247 

the  bookseller ;  Dr.  Abraham  Eees,  editor  of  the 
"Cyclopaedia ;"  Eitson,  the  antiquary ;  Home  Tooke ; 
and  Thomas  Stothard,  the  royal  academician ;  with 
many  others  of  the  illustrious  dead,  all  share  their 
"  long  repose  "  in  these  hallowed  precincts.  ISTearly 
opposite  Bunhill-fields  is  the  "  Tabernacle,"  Moor- 
fields.  Here  the  celebrated  John  Wesley  preached, 
and  here  he  was  buried. 

Battle-bridge,  now  called  King's  Cross,  is  said 
to  have  been  the  site  of  the  battle  in  which  Boa- 
dicea  was  the  heroine.  Here  also  took  place  a 
conflict  between  King  Alfred  and  the  Danes.  Oliver 
Cromwell  had  an  observatory  near  this  spot. 

Old  St.  Pancras,  built  in  the  twelfth  century,  is 
one  of  the  churches  mentioned  in  the  Doomsday 
survey.  The  Churchyard  is  small,  but  excessively 
crowded  with  ancient  monuments,  the  majority 
being  Catholic.  Among  the  distinguished  names 
will  be  found  recorded  that  of  the  celebrated  writer 
Mary  Woolstonecraft,  and  Godwin,  the  author  of 
"  Caleb  "Williams ; "  and  the  Corsican  General, 
Paoli ;  the  mother  of  Shelley ;  Walker,  the  lexi- 
cographer ;  Woodhead,  the  reputed  author  of  the 
"  Whole  Duty  of  Man ;"  Ward,  author  of  the 
"  London  Spy,"  etc. 

Stretching  northward  is  Islington,  where  lived 
Sir  Walter  Kaleigh ;   William   Collins,   the  poet. 


24:8  MEMORIES    OF   THE 

whom  Johnson  visited  here  in  his  retirement,  and 
thus  describes  his  interview : — ''  There  was  no- 
thing of  disorder  discernible  in  his  mind  by  any 
but  himself ;  but  he  had  withdrawn  from  study, 
and  travelled  with  no  other  book  than  an  English 
Testament,  such  as  children  carry  to  school ;  when 
his  friend  took  it  in  his  hand,  out  of  curiosity,  to  see 
what  companion  a  man  of  letters  had  chosen :  '  I 
have  but  one  book,'  said  Collins,  '  but  that  is  the 
best.'"  Oliver  Goldsmith;  Colley  Gibber;  and 
Alexander  Cruden,  author  of  the  "  Concordance," 
who  was  found  dead  on  his  knees  in  the  posture  of 
prayer,  also  resided  here.  His  house  was  in  Cam- 
den-passage.  Canonbury-house,  not  far  from  the 
church,  was  a  residence  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  and 
was  built  by  Henry  YIII.  A  tower,  fifty-eight  feet 
high,  still  remains,  as  well  as  the  old  walls  of  the 
gardens.  It  once  belonged  to  the  priors  of  St. 
Bartholomew. 

JSTichols,  the  author  of  "Literary  Anecdotes," 
lived  in  Highbury  Place.  In  Colbrooke-row,  near 
the  Kew  River,  lived  Charles  Lamb.  It  is  thus 
pleasantly  described  by  his  own  pen  in  one  of  his 
letters  : — 

"  When  you  come  Londonward,  you  will  find  me 
no  longer  in  Covent  Garden ;  I  have  a  cottage  in 
Colbrook-row,  Islington ;    a    cottage,    for  it  is  de- 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  249 

tached,  a  white  house  with  six  good  rooms  in  it ; 
the  'New  River  (rather  elderly  by  this  time)  runs 
close  to  the  foot  of  the  house  ;  and  behind  it  a  spa- 
cious garden  with  vines,  pears,  strawberries,  pars- 
nips, leeks,  carrots,  and  cabbages,  to  delight  the 
heart  of  old  Alcinous.  You  enter  without  passage 
into  a  cheerful  dining-room,  all  studded  over  and 
rough  with  old  books ;  and  above  is  a  lightsome 
drawing  room,  its  windows  full  of  choice  prints. 
I  feel  like  a  great  lord,  never  having  had  a  house 
before." 

Chalk  Farm  is  the  noted  place  for  duels.  Moore 
and  Jeffreys  fought  here  on  account  of  an  article  in 
the  "  Edinburgh  Review,"  which  Byron  satirises 
in  the  "  English  Bards  and  Scotch  Reviewers." 

Continuing  our  way  northward  we  arrrive  at 
Hampstead,  the  scene  of  Lord  George  Gordon's 
Popery  Riots.  In  the  churchyard  of  St.  James's 
Chapel  are  buried  Morland,  the  painter  ;  and  Lord 
George  Gordon.  In  a  narrow  street  on  the  left,  at 
]^o.  10,  lived  Wilkie  ;  here  he  painted  his  "  Blind 
Fiddler."  E'ear  by  is  "  Jack  Straw's  Castle."  The 
view  of  London  from  Hampstead  Heath  is  very 
imposing.  Kensal  Green  Cemetery  is  well  worthy 
of  a  visit.  Here  are  the  tombs  of  the  following 
celebrated  individuals.  The  Duke  of  Sussex — the 
brightest  ornament  of  the  family  of  George  HI.  and 


250  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

an  eminent  book  collector,  whose  library  contained 
about  three  thousand  different  editions  of  the  Bible 
in  various  languages.  In  the  same  mausoleum  is 
buried  his  sister,  the  Princess  Sophia;  it  is  near 
the  Chapel  of  the  cemetery.  Here  also  are  buried 
Lockhart  and  his  wife,  daughter  of  Sir  Walter 
Scott  y  Allan  Cunningham,  the  author ;  John  Mur- 
ray, the  publisher,  and  friend  of  Byron ;  Kev. 
Sydney  Smith;  Thomas  Barnes,  the  well-known 
editor  of  the  "  Times  ;"  Hood,  the  poet  and  punster ; 
Listen,  the  comedian ;  Loudon,  the  laborious  author 
of  works  on  Agriculture  ;  Sir  A.  Callcot,  the  land- 
scape painter ;  Dr  Birkbeck ;  Sir  W.  Beattie,  'Nel- 
son's  surgeon  at  Trafalgar ;  Thomas  Daniell,  the 
landscape  painter ;  etc. 

Highgate  was  the  residence  of  Coleridge,  and 
also  of  the  elder  Mathews,  the  comedian.  We 
should  not  omit  to  mention  Harrow-on-the-Hill, 
with  its  pointed  church  spire  looking  so  picturesque 
in  the  distance ;  at  the  celebrated  school  here  many 
eminent  men  were  educated — Lord  Byron,  Sheri- 
dan, Parr,  Sir  Eobert  Peel,  etc. 

In  Aylesbury-street,  Clerkenwell,  resided  the 
eccentric  bibliomaniac,  Thomas  Britton.  This 
curious  character  lived  in  the  Augustan  age  of 
Queen  Anne.  He  came  to  London  from  a 
northern   county,    and,    after   serving   an   humble 


GREAT    METROPOLIS.  261 

apprenticeship,  embarked  in  business  as  a  kind  of 
costermonger ;  he  was  in  the  habit  of  actually 
crying  his  coal  about  the  streets.  His  attire  was  a 
Guernsey  frock ;  he  carried  a  black  sack  on  his 
shoulders,  and  a  coal  measure  in  his  hands.  One 
day,  passing  nigh  the  house  of  Woollaston,  the 
painter,  in  Warwick-lane,  Britton,  being  in  his 
work-a-day  attire,  gave  out  lustily  his  well-known 
cry  of  "  Small  Coal."  "Woollaston's  attention  was 
attracted,  and  he  recognised  in  the  voice  that  of 
his  musical  acquaintance,  Britton,  whom  he  had 
never  seen  in  the  pursuit  of  his  ordinary  trade. 
The  artist  at  once  beckoned  Britton  in,  and  there 
and  then  took  his  portrait  as  he  sat — a  veritable 
itinerant  coal-dealer.  But  we  must  notice  the 
small-coal  man  under  his  bibliopole  phase.  A 
bibliomania  raged  among  Queen  Anne's  nobility. 
The  Earls  of  Oxford,  Pembroke,  Sunderland,  and 
Winchelsea,  and  the  Duke  of  Devonshire,  were 
among  the  smitten.  These  personages,  on  Satur- 
days, during  the  winter  season,  used  to  resort  to 
the  city,  and  there  separating,  take  several  routes  to 
the  booksellers'  shops  in  different  parts  of  the 
town,  to  search  out  old  volumes  and  MSS.  Some 
time  before  noon,  they  would  assemble  at  the  shop 
of    Christopher    Bateman,   a    bookseller,   at    the 

corner    of    Ave-Maria-lane,    in    Paternoster-row, 
9* 


252  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

where  they  were  frequently  met  by  other  persons 
engaged  in  the  same  pursuit,  and  a  conversation 
commenced  on  the  subject  of  their  purchases,  ^s 
nearly  as  possible  to  the  hour  of  twelve,  by  St. 
Paul's  clock,  Britton,  (who  by  that  time  had  finish- 
ed his  rounds,)  clad  in  his  blue  frock,  and  pitching 
his  sack  of  small  coal  on  the  bulk  of  Mr.  Bate- 
man's  shop  window,  used  to  go  in  and  join  them. 
After  about  an  hour's  chat,  the  noblemen  adjourn- 
ed to  the  "  Mourning  Bush"  Tavern,  at  Alders- 
gate  (probably  the  site  of  the  present  Albion 
Tavern),  where  they  dined,  and  spent  the  remain- 
der of  the  day. 

The  Cross  Keys  Inn,  on  the  east  side  of  John- 
street,  Clerkenwell,  was  a  favorite  haunt  of 
Kichard  Savage.  Old-street  was  so  called  from  its 
having  been  the  old  highway  from  the  city  to  the 
north-east.  Psalmanazar,  who  invented  a  lan- 
guage which  puzzled  the  learned  of  his  day,  lived 
in  this  street.  He  used  to  meet  Johnson  and 
others  at  a  public-house  here.  When  Johnson  was 
asked  whether  he  ever  contradicted  Psalmanazar, 
he  replied  "  Sir,  I  should  as  soon  have  contradict- 
ed a  bishop." 

On  the  north  side  of  St.  Botolph's  Church,  to 
the  south  of  which  stood  Aldersgate,  is  Little  Bri- 
tain, which  derives  its  name  from  having  been  the 


GREAT   METEOPOLIS.  253 

residence  of  tlie  Dukes  of  Bretagne.     Previous  to 
the  booksellers  occupying   Paternoster-row,   Little 
Britain  was  the  great  literary  emporium.      One 
Chiswell,  resident  here  in  ITll,  was  the  metropo- 
litan bookseller,  the  "  Longman"  of  his  time  :  and 
here  lived  Kawlinson  ("  Tom  Folio"  of  "  The  Tat- 
ler,"  'No.  158),  who  stuffed  four  chambers  in  Gray's 
Inn  so  full,  that  his  bed  was  removed  into  the 
passage.      John   Day,   the   famous   early  printer, 
lived  "  over  Aldersgate."     Milton  and  the  learned 
pundits  of  his  day  were  frequenters  of  this  once 
classic  site.     Franklin  also  lodged  in  this  street 
when  he  worked  as  journeyman  in  Bartholomew 
Close.     Here,  at  the  beginning  of  the  last  century, 
resided  a  celebrated  publisher,  John  DuntoU;  who 
is  called  by  his  biographer  "  the  iTiost  eminent  in 
his  profession  in   the   three   kingdoms,   who  well 
deserves   the  title   of  Metropolitan   Bookseller  in 
England.     He  has  not  been  known  to  print  either 
a  bad  book,  or  on  bad  paper."      His  "  Life  and 
Errors"  may  derive  some  qualification  by  the  ad- 
mission of  the  above-named  fact,  since  it  can  be 
predicated  of  but  few  of  his  craft. 

The  Post-Office,  in  St.  Martin's-le-Grand,  is  a 
noble  edifice,  from  the  designs  of  Smirke.  The 
statistics  of  this  establishment  are  startling:  for  their 
magnitude — its  number  of  clerks  and  letter-carriers 


254 


MEMORIES   OF   THE 


amounting  to  about  ten  thousand  persons  in  Eng- 
land and  Wales,  and  about  three  thousand  addi- 
tional in  Scotland  and  Ireland.     The  number  of 


letters  delivered  in  1848  was  estimated  at  three 
hxmdred  and  twenty-nine  millions,  and  the  ratio 
since  then  has  been  on  the  increase.  Since  the 
reduction  of  postage,  effected  by  Mr.  Rowland  Hill, 
it  is  computed  that  the  number  of  letters  has  been 
more  than  quadrupled. 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  255 


CHAPTER     XI. 

Christ's  Hospital — St.  John's  Gate — Pie  Corner — Smithfield — St.  Bartholo- 
mew's Church  and  Hospital — Ely  Place  and  House -Hatton  Garden- 
Edward  Irving — St.  Andrew's  Church— The  Blue  Boar— Fleur-de-lys 
Court — Dwelling-place  of  Dryden — Thomas  Chatterton — Gray's  Inn  and 
its  distinguished  residents  —  Red  Lion-street — Holbom — Black-Letter 
Booksellers — Great  Queen-street — Anecdote  of  Dr.  Radcliffe  and  Sir 
Godfrey  Kneller— Leicester-square — St.  Anne's  Church,  Soho — Prince's- 
street — Argyll-street — Conduit-street — George-street,  Hanover-square — 
Bond-street — Brooke-street — The  Coliseum. 


HEIST'S  Hospital,  or  the  Blue 
Coat  School,  founded  by  Edward 
YI.,  is  still  one  of  the  most  emi- 
'nent  seats  of  learning  in  the  British 
Metropolis.  It  has  produced  many  dis- 
tinguished men,  among  them  Bishop  Stil- 
lingileet ;  Charles  Lamb ;  Leigh  Hunt ; 
William  Camden,  author  of  the  "Britan- 
nia ;"  Samuel  Richardson,  author  of  "  Clarissa 
Harlowe ;"  Coleridge,  the  poet,  etc.  There  is  per- 
haps no  spot  in  London  which  has  witnessed  so 
much  dreary  horror  as  the  ground  occupied  by  the 
Charter  Hpuse.  In  its  precincts  lie  the  remains 
of  no  fewer  than  100,000  human  beings  who  fell 
victims  to  the  Plague  which  devastated  the  Metro- 


256  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

polls  in  the  reign  of  Edward  Til.;  and  whicli, 
according  to  Stowe,  nearly  decimated  the  inhabi- 
tants. This  edifice  is  of  great  'antiquity,  and  has 
been  variously  occupied,  as  a  monastery,  a  royal 
and  noble  residence,  and  an  endowed  school. 
'Hie  pensioners  on  this  establishment  are  eighty 
"  decayed  gentlemen"  and  forty-four  scholars. 
Queen  Elizabeth  visited  the  Charter  House  on 
more  than  one  occasion  ;  and  that  worthy  non-con- 
formist, Eichard  Baxter,  breathed  his  last  in  one 
of  its  apartments,  in  1691. 

Among  the  celebrated  scholars  w^ho  emanated 
from  this  school  are  the  following  : — Tooke,  the 
author  of  "  The  Pantheon  ;"  Addison  ;  Steele  ; 
John  Wesley ;  Bagford,  the  antiquary,  originally 
a  shoemaker  and  afterwards  a  bookseller,  and 
whose  "  History  of  Printing  "  forms  part  of  the 
Harleian  Collection,  in  the  British  Museum ; 
Isaac  Barrow,  the  divine,  who  was  celebrated  at 
school  for  his  love  of  fighting  ;  Sir  William  Black- 
stone,  author  of  the  "  Commentaries  ;"  Joseph  Ad- 
dison ;  Sir  C.  L.  Eastlake,  P.  A. ,;  the  two  eminent 
historians  of  Greece,  Bishop  Thirlwall  and "  George 
Grote,  Esq. 

St.  John's  Gate,  Clerkenwell,  one  of -the  oldest 
relics  of  London,  is  still  standing.  It  is  full  of 
historic  associations,   and   the    literary   antiquary 


GREAT  METROPOLIS.  257 

will  remember  that  the  first .  number  of  "  The 
Gentleman's  Magazine,"  the  earliest  publication 
of  its  class,  was  issued  from  this  place.  Boswell 
speaks  of  the  "  reverence "  with  which  Johnson 
gazed  upon  the  antique  pile.  There  was  an  an- 
cient order  connected  with  this  gate,  called  tho 
Knights  of  St  John,  who  were  accustomed  to  re- 
gale themselves  with  beer  and  tobacco,  yet  they 
were  very  rigid  in  the  observance  of  their  devo- 
tions, and  zealous  in  the  defence  of  Christianity 
against  Paganism. 

John  Bunyan  died,  in  1688,  at  the  house  of  his 
friend,  Mr.  Strudwick,  a  grocer,  at  the  sign  of  the 
"  Star,"  on  Snow-Hill.  Pie  Corner,  West  Smith- 
field,  was  the  place  where  the  Eire  of  1666  ceased ; 
it  began  at  Pudding  Lane — a  strange  coincidence 
of  names,  since  the  calamity  was  occasioned,  it  is 
affirmed,  by  the  sin  of  gluttony.  There  is  an  al- 
lusion in  the  Roxburgh  Ballads  to  Pie  Corner,  in 
this  wise  : 

"  Next  day  I  through  Pie  Corner  past ; 
The  roast  meat  on  the  stall 
Invited  me  to  take  a  taste  : 
My  money  was  but  small." 

Smithfield,  corrupted  from  Smooth-field,  natural- 
ly  brings  to  the  mind  scenes  of  deep  and  stirring 


258  MEMORIES   OF  THE 

interest.  In  early  times  it  was  the  site  of  tilts  and 
tournaments,  subsequently  it  witnessed  tlie  pains 
and  heroism  of  martyrdom — the  noble  victims  of 
Popish  cruelty.  The  Tower  of  St.  Bartholomew's 
Church,  which  is  still  standing  at  the  eastern  corner 
of  Smithfield,  was  illumined  by  the  flames  kindled 
for  those  illustrious  confessors,  of  whom  the  world 
was  not  worthy,  one  of  the  earliest  being  the 
amiable  and  high-minded  Anne  Askew.  St.  Bar- 
tholomew's, which  is  believed  to  have  been  used 
secretly  by  the  Reformers  of  the  16th  century,  from 
its  having  subterranean  chambers,  occupies  the  site 
of  the  Priory  founded  by  Pahere,  the  minstrel,  in 
the  reign  of  Henry  11. ,  who  granted  him  the  privi- 
lege of  holding  a  fair,  yearly,  at  Bartholomew-tide, 
for  three  days.  Smithfield  is  thus  rendered  remark- 
able for  its  annual  fair,  about  which  the  less  said 
the  better,  for  it  is  distinguished  by  its  mummeries 
and  its  mountebanks.  Pahere,  the  prior,  built  this 
church  in  consequence  of  a  nocturnal  vision  which 
visited  him,  instructing  him,  in  the  name  of  the 
saint,  to  do  so.  There  is  a  monument  erected  to 
his  memory  within  the  church; 

The  last  person  who  suffered  was  Bartholomew 
Leggett,  who  was  burnt  for  denying  the  Athana- 
sian  and  ISI'icene  creeds.  The  space  in  the  centre  of 
the  pens,  and  facing  the  gate  of  St.  Bartholomew's 

'» 


St.   lUrtljoIoaifiD  3  (lijurcft. 


GREAT  METROPOLIS.  261 

Hospital,  where  the  martyrs  were  consumed  by 
flame,  was  long  clearly  indicated,  being  near  a 
large  board  ;  the  ground  about  the  stake  was  paved 
with  stones,  circularly  placed. 

On  the  north  side  of  Holborn  Hill  are  Ely-place 
and  Hatton  Garden, — the  former  deriving  its  name 
from  the  episcopal  palace  of  the  bishops  of  Ely — 
the  latter  from  the  adjoining  residence  of  Sir  Chris- 
topher Hatton,  the  graceful  courtier  and   eminent 
statesman  of  the  reign   of  Queen  Elizabeth.     Ely 
House,  in  the  days  of  its  splendor,  was  very  stately : 
the  grounds  covered  twenty  acres.     It  was  founded 
in  1290,  and  was  the  scene  of  some  stirring  events. 
Here  "  old  John  o'  Gaunt,  time-honored  Lancaster," 
breathed  his  last,  and  according  to  Shakespeare,  ad- 
monishing   his     dissipated  nephew,    Richard    H. 
Here  too,  says  Holinshed,  "  did  assemble  that  me- 
morable   council,    and    was    enacted  the  terrible 
drama  which  was  followed  by  the  arrest  of  Lord 
Stanley,  and  of  Jane  Shore,  the  execution  of  Lord 
Hastings,  and  the  dethronement  and  death  of  the 
ill-fated  Edward  the  Fifth  !"     Here  also  took  place 
some  royal  entertainments,  and  among  the  number 
that  at  which  Henry  YHI.  and  Catharine  of  Arra- 
gon  sat  as  guests,  which  lasted  five  days.    The  last 
"  mystery,"  or  sacred  drama,  represented  in  Eng- 
land, that  of  "  Christ's  Passion,"  was,  it  is  said,  per- 


262  MEMORIES    OF   THE 

formed  at  Ely  House  in  the  reign  of  James  the 
First.  Sir  Christopher  Hatton  breathed  his  last  in 
Hatton  House,  dying,  it  is  reported,  of  a  broken 
heart,  in  consequence  of  his  being  unable  to  repay 
£40,000  which  Queen  Elizabeth  formerly  lent  him, 
and  which  she  had  pressed  him  to  return.  In 
Cross-street,  Hatton  Garden,  lived  the  eminent 
divine,  Whiston ;  and  here,  also,  in  modern  times, 
shone,  for  a  season,  that  "  bright  particular  star" — 
that  theological  Demosthenes — Edward  Irving, 
whose  brief  but  brilliant  career  as  a  pulpit  orator 
for  a  time  made  this  obscure  nook  the  resort  of  the 
wealth  and  fashion  of  the  metropolis.  It  was  here 
Irving  presented  his  most  striking  and  imposing  air 
of  originality,  both  as  to  his  physique  and  his  gigan- 
tic powers.  Erect  and  stately  in  his  bearing,  his 
tall  figure  and  most  expressive  features  shrouded 
by  masses  of  long  black  hair,  parted  on  the  fore- 
head and  flowing  down  his  back,  he  looked  like  one 
of  the  olden  time, — ^reminding  us  of  those  mag- 
nates of  apostolic  mould  and  mien,  whose  names 
shine  so  lustrously  over  the  mediaeval  history  of  the 
Church.  The  flashing  glance  of  his  piercing  dark 
eye,  in  its  "  fine  frenzy  rolling,"  at  once  proclaimed 
him  to  be  of  no  ordinary  standard  ;  and  when  the 
energy  of  his  soul  was  kindled  up,  such  was  the 
witchery  of  his  fervid  and  impassioned   appeals, 


GREAT    METROPOLIS.  263 

that  multitudes  were  held  spell-bound  by  his  utter- 
ance, with  an  inexpressible  fascination.  His  dis- 
courses partook  more  of  the  epic  than  the  sermon ; 
modelled  closely  from  the  great  masters  in  theology, 
he  possessed  not  only  their  quaint  beauty  of  diction, 
but  also  their  rich  poetic  imagery  and  illustration, 
as  well  as  their  masterly  logic.  His  terrible  denun- 
ciations against  the  vices  incident  to  the  higher 
ranks  of  society  were  hurled  with  fearless  intrepidi- 
ty, and  often  were  these  rebukes  thundered  in  their 
very  ears.  In  this  respect  he  seemed  to  resemble 
the  invincible  John  Knox.  Yet  did  the  aristocracy 
crowd  his  chapel  to  such  a  degree  as  almost  to  ex- 
clude everybody  else ;  Brougham,  Canning,  the 
Duke  of  York,  Hazlitt,  Kean,  Wordsworth,  and 
hosts  of  other  celebrities  were  among  his  attendants. 
St.  Andrew's,  Holborn,  was  erected  by  Wren,  in 
1686.  The  far-famed  Sacheverel  was  once  a  rector 
of  this  church.  The  parish  registers  record  the 
baptism  and  burial  of  two  of  our  most  unfortunate 
fions  of  song  : — under  the  18th  of  January,  1696-Y, 
the  baptism  of  Richard  Savage  ;  and  under  the  28th 
-of  August,  1770,  the  burial  of  Thomas  Chatterton. 
In  Holborn,  between  King-street  and  Southamp- 
ton-street, lived  Sir  Kenelm  Digby.  The  Blue 
Boar  Inn,  ISTo.  270  High  Holborn,  is  where  a  letter 
from  Charles  I.  was  intercepted  by  Cromwell   and 


264  MEMOEIES   OF   THE 

Ireton,  disguised  as  troopers.  This  letter  is  said  to 
have  determined  the  king's  execution. 

The  thoroughfare  formerly  known  as  Fleur-de- 
lys  Court,  but  now  yclept  Lion's  Head  Court,  is 
celebrated  for  having  been  the  dwelling-place  of 
Dryden.  The  following  quaint  allusion  to  the 
act  we  cite  from  the  admirable  "  Recreations  of 
W.  Zigzag  the  Elder  :»— 

"  From  Fetter-lane  to  Poet's  Corner — toil,  penu- 
ry, and  ignoble  strife ;  with  some  brief  glimpses  of 
that  thing  by  mortals  called  immortality  ; — the  boon 
of  the  few  really  great,  which  men  tardily  award, 
some  century  or  so  after  the  grave  has  closed  over 
them,  and  the  mockery  of  marble  has  proclaimed 
that  he  who  in  vain  asked  bread  has  at  least  received 
a  stone ;  where  '  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling, 
and  the  weary  are  at  rest :'  then  do  booksellers  reck- 
on the  gain  of  new  editions,  by  sums  one  tithe  of 
which  would  have  provided  the  author  with  some- 
thing more  than  a  clean  shirt  and  a  dinner ;  the  for- 
mer a  luxury  only  to  be  enjoyed  by  the  concession 
of  a  laundress,  her  temper  growing  shorter  in  pro- 
portion to  the  increasing  longitude  of  her  bill,  and 
the  latter  partaken  too  often  with  the  Barmecide, 
or  at  the  hospitable  board  of  Duke  Humphrey  • 
such  in  the  days  of  the  Second  Charles,  of  blessed 
memory,  was  the  fate  of  the  poet  dependant  upon 


-  GREAT   METEOPOLIS.  265 

the  caprices  of  fashion  for  his  daily  bread,  and  some- 
what like  this  was  the  fate  of  John  Drjden,  one  who 
might  have  taken  his  place  among  the  highest,  had 
he  not  sought  all  too  much  the  incense  of  the 
fleeting  hour,  and  bought  it  at  the  dear  cost  of  a 
poet's  apotheosis : — '  the  head  of  the  idol  was  gold, 
but  his  feet  were  of  clay.'  Fetter-lane,  the  scene 
^  where  Dryden  commenced  his  career,  has  maintain- 
ed its  original  character  in  the  name  Fetter  or 
Fewter  Lane,  which  is  thus  described  by  Stowe : — 
'  Fewter-Lane,  which  stretcheth  south  into  Fleet- 
street,  by  the  east  end  of  St.  Dunstan's  Church, 
and  is  so  called  of  Fewters  (or  idle  people)  lying 
there.'  But  in  the  poet's  time  this  place  of  ill- 
omened  designation  had  been  improved  by  the 
erection  of  certain  tenements  of  a  more  reputable 
aspect;  in  short,  dwellings  where  a  poet  might 
starve  genteely ;  and  the  house  in  question,  if  not 
among  the  most  stately,  is  yet  not  devoid  of  a 
character  somewhat  ornamental,  according  to  the 
taste  of  the  time.  The  last  nook,  but  that  portion 
of  a  poet's  domicile  which  is  always  visited  with 
the  greatest  curiosity  and  veneration,  is  the  up- 
permost story  or  garret.  Somehow  the  notion  of 
a  poet's  chamber  is  governed  by  an  association 
of  the  ideas  of  flights  of  genius  and  flights  of  stairs. 
Yes,  this  obscure  landing  is  certainly  the  vestibule 


266  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

to  the  sanctum  sanctorum;  it  is  very  dark,  and 
the  atmosphere  is  assuredly  not  that  of  myrrh  and 
frankincense." 

Adjacent  to  Fm-nival's  Inn,  Brooke-street,  is 
an  obscure  grocery  store,  over  which  is  the  room 
where,  after  three  days'  starvation,  poor  Chatterton 
committed  suicide.  If  ever  so  terrible  a  crime 
could  admit  of  palliation,  it  must  be  under  such, 
distressing  circumstances  as  his.  We  visited  the 
spot  as  one  of  the  shrines  of  ill-fated  genius,  after 
reading  the  deeply  interesting  memoirs  of  his  sad 
and  brief  career,  written  by  Cunningham.  This 
house,  we  regret  to  learn,  has  recently  been  pulled 
down,  to  make  way  for  modern  improvements.  The 
following  particulars  of  his  last  hours  we  copy  from 
the  pen  of  one  of  his  biographers  : — 

"  His  room  when  broken  open  was  found  co- 
vered with  little  scraps  of  paj)er.  Mrs.  Angel 
stated  that  for  two  days,  when  he  did  not  absent 
himself  from  his  room,  he  went  without  sustenance 
of  any  kind ;  on  one  occasion,  when  she  knew  him 
to  be  in  want  of  fo«fd,  she  begged  he  would  take  a 
little  dinner  with  her ;  he  was  offended  at  the  in- 
vitation, and  assured  her  he  was  not  hungry.  Mr. 
Cross,  also,  an  apothecary  in  Brooke-street,  gave 
evidence  that  he  repeatedly  pressed  Chatterton  to 
dine  or  sup  with  him ;  and  when,  with  great  diffi- 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  267 

culty,  lie  was  one  evening  prevailed  on  to  partake 
of  a  barrel  of  ojsters,  he  was  observed  to  eat  most 
voraciously." 

In  the  vicinity  of  Holborn  is  Gray's  Inn.  To 
the  gateway  of  this  Inn  a  certain  interest  attaches 
from  its  having  been  the  site  of  the  celebrated 
publishing  establishment  of  Jacob  Tonson,  who 
appears  to  have  resided  here  between  the  years 
1697  and  1712,  when  he  removed  to  a  shop  oppo- 
site Catherine-street,  in  the  Strand.  Tonson  was 
succeeded  in  his  shop  by  Osborne,  whose  name 
may  be  found  in  the  "  Dunciad."  Osborne  is  per- 
haps best  remembered  for  his  well-known  feud 
with  Dr.  Johnson.  "  It  has  been  confidently  re- 
lated, with  many  embellishments,"  says  Boswell, 
"  that  Johnson  one  day  knocked  Osborne  down  in 
his  shop  with  a  folio,  and  put  his  foot  upon  his 
neck.  The  simple  truth  I  had  from  the  Doctor 
himself — '  Sir,  he  was  impertinent  to  me,  and  I 
beat  him  :  but  it  was  not  in  his  shop,  it  was  in  my 
own  chamber.'  "  Johnson  says  of  Osborne  that  he 
was  destitute  of  shame,  without  sense  of  any  dis- 
grace but  that  of  poverty :  and  that  he  coftibined 
the  most  lamentable  ignorance  with  expertness  in 
all  the  petty  tricks  of  trade. 

Bacon,  it  will  be  remembered,  resided  in 
Gray's  Inn  ;   some  of  his  essays  were  dated  from 


268  MEMOEIES   OF   THE 

his  "  chamber  in  Graie's  Inne."  Here  also  dwelt 
the  great  statesman,  Thomas  Cromwell,  afterwards 
Earl  of  Essex,  who  succeeded  Wolsey  in  the  favor 
of  Henry,  to  whom  Shakespeare  makes  the  Car- 
dinal address  his  famous  apostrophe  : — 

"  Oh !  Cromwell,  Cromwell, 
Had  I  but  served  my  God  with  half  the  zeal 
I  served  my  king,  He  would  not  in  my  age 
Have  left  me  naked  to  my  enemies." 

The  "  great  Lord  Burghley ;"  Eobert  Cecil,  Earl 
of  Salisbury ;  and  Monk,  Duke  of  Albemarle, 
among  statesmen ;  and  Sir  Philip  Sydney ;  Samuel 
Butler,  author  of  "  Hudibras ; "  Chapman,  the 
translator  of  "  Homer ;"  and  Murphy,  the  trans- 
lator of  "  Tacitus,"  in  literature ;  were  students  of 
the  society  of  Gray's  Inn. 

Among  the  records  of  the  Eolls'  Court,  near 
Chancery-lane,  are  the  following  documents  : — Roll 
of  record  of  grants  on  parchment  made  by  Henry 
Yin.  to  Robert  Tirwhite  to  alienate  certain 
estates  in  Westmoreland  and  Cumberland,  to 
"  Rudolph  (Ralph)  Washington  and  James  Wash- 
ington*" This  interesting  document  was  first  dis- 
covered, we  believe,  by  Mr.  Gardner  Stow,  of 
Troy,  when  on  a  visit  in  1848.  Dr.  Sparks  does 
not  refer  to  it  in  his  biography  of  Washington. 
There  is  another  parchment  in  the  Chapel  of  the 


GEEAT   METROPOLIS.  269 

Kolls  which  will  prove  of  especial  interest  to  the 
American  tourist — it  is  the  original  grant  of  Penn- 
sylvania, made  by  Charles  II.,  to  William  Penn, 
(styled  in  the  document  Sir  William  Penn,)  on 
account  of  "  his  conversion  of  the  savages,"  and  his 
father's  public  services. 

There  are  also  copies  of  the  coronation  oaths, 
with  the  autographs,  of  several  Kings  and  Queens 
of  England,  presenting  curious  specimens  of  chiro- 
graphy. 

Red  Lion-street,  so  called  from  the  famous 
"  Bed  Lion  Inne,"  built  1697,  is  in  this  part  of 
Holborn.  On  the  wall  of  the  house  at  the  south- 
west corner  of  this  street  is  a  block  of  wood  in- 
serted with  the  date  1611.  In  Red  Lion-square  lived 
Mr,  Osborn,  and  Rich,  the  American  bookseller, 
and  author  of  some  bibliograj^hical  works.  Hol- 
born is  remarkable  for  its  Blaclc-Letter  booksellers, 
those  who  deal  in  old  books.  They  form  a  distinct 
class,  and  present  some  curious  idiosyncracies  of 
character.  Dacie  was  one  of  them ;  he  lived  near 
Little  Turnstile,  and  indulged  the  odd  fancy  of 
decorating  his  dingy  shop  with  feminines  for 
clerks.  Some,  we  remember,  were  attractive  for 
their  personal  appearance,  and  presented  quite  a 
relief  to  the  huge  mass  of  dusty  old  tomes  which 

crowded  his  book-shelves.     It  is  said  he  paid  the 
10 


270  MEMOEIES  OF  THE 

highest  price  for  beauty,  and  that  his  ratio  was  in 
proportion  to  the  personal  charms  of  his  fair  as- 
sistants. In  Great  Queen-street  lived  "  Old 
JSTunn,"  as  he  was  familiarly  called  by  the  trade. 
He  had  an  immense  collection  of  old  books  ;  and 
he  was  himself  of  prodigious  proportions,  being 
somewhat  after  the  Daniel  Lambert  style.  Yet 
as  though  he  had  not  enough  of  himself  to  carry, 
he  was  accustomed  to  cram  his  capacious  pockets, 
when  he  went  to  purchase  books  in  Paternoster- 
row,  to  the  extent  of  some  ten  or  a  dozen  oc- 
tavos. 

While  speaking  of  Great  Queen-street,  among 
its  eminent  inhabitants  we  might  mention  the 
names  of  the  eccentric  Herbert  of  Cherbury ;  Sir 
Thomas  Fairfax,  the  Parliamentary  general;  and 
Hoole,  the  translator  of  Tasso. 

According  to  Walpole,  Sir  Godfrey  Kneller 
and  Dr.  Padcliff  lived  in  this  street,  in  adjoining 
houses ;  but  Mr.  Cunningham  insists  that  Had- 
cliff  lived  in  Bow-street  and  Kneller  in  the  Piaz- 
za, Oovent  Garden,  and  that  their  grounds  joined 
each  other.  "  Kneller,"  says  Walpole,  "  was  fond 
of  flowers,  and  had  a  fine  collection.  As  there 
was  great  intimacy  between  him  and  the  physi- 
cian, he  permitted  the  latter  to  have  a  door  into 
his  garden  ;  but  Radcliff 's  servants  gathering  and 


GREAT   METKOPOLIS.  2Y1 

destroying  the  flowers,  Kneller  sent  liim  word  he 
must  shnt  up  the  door.  Radcliff  replied,  peevish- 
ly,— 'Tell  him  he  may  do  anything  with  it  but 
paint  it.'  'And  I,'  answered  Sir  Godfrey,  'can 
take  anything  from  him  but  physic.'  " 

Taylor,  the  water  poet,  kept  a  tavern  in 
Phoenix-alley,  Long  Acre :  he  died  here  in  1653, 
and  was  buried  in  St.  Martin's-in-the-Fields. 

We  deviate  a  little  from  our  route  to  touch 
at  Leicester-square.  Two  of  England's  greatest 
artists  lived  and  died  in  Leicester-square — Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds  and  William  Hogarth.  The 
former  resided  in  the  fourth  house  from  Sydney's- 
alley ;  and  the  latter  in  one  of  those  now  called 
the  Sabloniere  Hotel.  Goldsmith  and  Johnson 
were  frequent  visitors  at  the  domicile  of  Sir 
Joshua ;  Burke,  Sir  Isaac  Kewton,  and  John 
Hunter,  the  celebrated  surgeon,  lived  here,  the 
last  named,  next  door  to  Hogarth.  Leicester- 
square  is  the  especial  resort  of  all  foreign  refugees 
and  continental  exiles.  Wyld's  colossal  Globe  is 
now  the  great  object  of  attraction  in  this  locality. 

When  the  Polish  patriot,  Kosciusko,  visited 
England,  he  lived  in  the  house  in  which  Hogarth 
had  closed  his  existence.  The  house  adjoining  had 
the  distinguished  surgeon,  John  Hunter,  for  its  in- 
mate, and  here  he  formed  his  anatomical  museum. 


272  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

The  gloiy  of  tlie  neigliborliood  of  Leicester- 
square  is  in  St.  Martin's-street,  where  the  house  is 
still  remaining  which  was  occupied  by  the  great 
ISTewton.  The  turret  or  closet,  covered  with  slate 
at  the  top,  was  the  observatory  of  this  celebrated 
man.  The  house  was  subsequently  inhabited  by 
Dr.  Burney,  author  of  the  "  History  of  Music ;" 
and  here  his  daughter  Fanny  wrote  her  novel  of 
"  Evelina." 

Dryden  lived  in  Gerard-street  for  many  years, 
dying  at  his  house,  in  1701.  Edmund  Burke  was 
also  a  resident  here. 

In  the  churchyard  of  St.  Anne's,  Soho,  sleep 
the  remains  of  the  elegant  essayist  Hazlitt.  Here 
also  is  the  monument  of  Theodore,  King  of  Corsica, 
who  died  insolvent  in  the  King's  Bench  Prison,  in 
consequence  of  which  he  registered  his  kingdom  of 
Corsica  for  the  use  of  his  creditors. 

"  The  grave,  great  teacher,  to  a  level  brings 
Heroes  and  beggars,  galley-slaves  and  kings. 
But  Theodore  this  moral  learn'd  ere  dead ; 
Fate  pour'd  its  lessons  on  his  living  head, 
Bestow'd  a  kingdom,  and  denied  him  bread." 

In  Prince's-street,  Soho,  Colton  wrote  his 
"  Lacon."  His  lodging  was  a  meagrely  furnished 
upper  story ;  and  he  wrote  this  remarkable  book 
with  a  stumpy  pen  upon  the  covers  of  old  letters 


GREAT   METEOPOLIS.  273 

and  scraps  of  dirty  paper,  after  the  fashion  of 
another  writer  of  celebrity — Haydn,  the  author  of 
"  The  Dictionary  of  Dates." 

We  must  now  return  to  St.  Giles's,  a  parish 
whose  name  is  proverbially  synonymous  with 
wretchedness  and  crime.  It  is  not,  however,  on 
this  account  that  we  invite  the  attention  of  the 
reader  to  this  section  of  the  metropolis,  for  happily 
the  street  surveyors  have  recently  sought  to  rid 
this  district  of  its  odium.  St.  Giles's  Church  is  an 
object  of  interest  to  the  antiquary  on  account  of 
the  old  tombs  which  surround  it.  The  following 
eminent  persons  are  buried  there : — Chapman,  the 
translator  of  "  Homer ;"  the  eccentric  Lord  Her- 
bert, of  Cherbury ;  Shirley,  the  dramatist ;  An- 
drew Mar  veil,  the  poet ;  and  Sir  Eoger  L'Estrange, 
the  wit.  Over  the  iron  gateway  is  a  bas-relief  re- 
presenting the  Day  of  Judgment;  a  curious  relic 
of  the  former  church,  1687.  The  next  important 
object  that  claims  our  notice  is  the  British  Mu- 
seum, situated  in  Great  Russell-street.  This  pro- 
digious structure  was  originated  in  1763,  in  conse- 
quence of  Sir  Hans  Sloane  having  bequeathed  his 
valuable  collection,  which  cost  him  £50,000,  to  the 
country.  Other  collections  were  united  to  it,  as 
the  Cottonian  Library,  the  Harleian  and  the  Arun- 
del MSS.,  Sir  W.  Hamilton's  Etruscan  Yases,  the 


274  MEMOKIES    OF   THE 

Townley  Marbles,  the  Elgin  Marbles,  the  Lans- 
downe  MSS.,  Edwards's  Library,  Eurney's  Classi- 
cal Library,  the  Grenville  Library,  with  other  col- 
lections. Many  large  gifts  and  purchases  besides 
have  increased  it,  as  the  MSS.  belonging-  to  the 
Kings  of  England,  and  their  printed  books  from 
Eichard  II.  to  George  II. ;  a  collection  of  pam- 
phlets presented  by  George  III.,  published  between 
1640  and  1660,  and  various  other  donations.     To 


these  have  been  added,  by  the  country,  a  fine  li- 
brary, collected  by  George  III.  at  an  expense  of 
£130,000,  consisting  of  63,000  volumes,  which  are 
in  an  apartment  devoted  to  the  purpose  of  their 
preservation.  This  library  had  been  sold  to  Russia 
by  George  TV.  The  circumstance  was  discovered 
by  the  ministry  just  in  time  to  prevent  the  em- 
barkation of  the  books.  The  money  was  paid  for 
them  in  1823,  and  they  became  the  property  of 


GREAT    METROPOLIS.  275 

the  nation.  This  magnificent  Museum  is  already 
become  an  immense  depository  of  books,  antiqui- 
ties, and  natural  history.  The  library  consists  of 
about  600,000  volumes,  many  of  which  are  of 
great  value  and  rarity.  The  oldest  MS.  is  a  copy 
of  the  Gospels  in  Latin,  of  the  Yth  century  ;  the 
celebrated  Bible,  said  to  have  been  written  by 
Alcuin,  for  Charlemagne;  Lady  Jane  Grey's 
Prayer  Book ;  also  Queen  Elizabeth's,  curiously 
bound  in  a  cover  of  her  own  embroidery;  the 
original  MS.  of  Pope's  Homer,  written  on  the  backs 
of  letters  !  There  are  also  over  three  hundred  vo- 
lumes of  Syriac  MSS.,  obtained  from  Egyptian 
monasteries.  Here  is  also  the  earliest  printed  book 
known — the  Mazarine  Bible,  (temp.  1455.)  Not 
among  the  least  interesting  of  its  valuable  relics  are 
the  JSTimroud  Marbles,  contributed  by  the  indefati- 
gable Layard.  The  Man-Lion,  and  the  Bull-Lion, 
with  their  expanded  wings,  are  placed  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  Hall,  and  present  a  most  imposing 
spectacle.  The  buildings  have  been  altered  from 
time  to  time ;  the  present  is  the  work  of  Sir  Robert 
Smirke,  and  the  massive  portico,  of  which  the  en- 
graving gives  a  view,  was  finished  as  late  as  1847. 
It  is  needless  to  s^xiak  of  the  vast  collection,  in 
these  halls,  of  books  and  curiosities, — a  catalogue 
of  which  makes  almost  a  library. 


276  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

In  Bloomsbniy-square  died  Baxter  the  divine  ; 
Sir  Hans  Sloane  resided  at  the  corner  of  South- 
ampton-street, leading  from  the  square ;  and  at  the 
north-east  corner  lived  the  great  Lord  Mansfield. 
His  house  was  destroyed  in  the  riots  of  1780.  At 
'No.  6  lived  D'Israeli ;  here  he  composed  his  "  Curi- 
osities of  Literature."  Steele  and  Akinside  were 
also  residents  of  Bloomsbury-square. 

In  E'ewman-street,  Oxford-street,  the  following 
artists  once  resided  :  Banks,  the  sculptor,  at  No.  5  ; 
Bacon,  the  sculptor,  at  No.  17  ;  Benjamin  West,  at 
No.  14,  where  he  died  in  1820  ;  and  Stothard,  at 
No.  28,  who  lived  there  during  the  last  forty-four 
years  of  his  life,  which  terminated  in  1834. 

At  Argyll  House,  Argyll- street,  lived  the  good 
Lord  Lyttleton  ;  and  here,  at  No.  30,  Madame  de 
Stael  held  her  celebrated  levees.  At  No.  8  Argyll- 
place  lived  Northcote,  the  painter ;  here  he  held  his 
conversations  with  Hazlitt,  and  here  he  died  in  1831. 

Crossing  Regent-street,  renowned  for  its  archi- 
tectural attractions,  we  enter  Conduit-street,  in 
which  is  a  small  antique  chapel,  built  of  wood,  by 
James  IL,  for  private  mass.  It  was  erected  on 
wheels,  for  the  purpose  of  accompanying  that 
prince  when  he  attended  his  army ;  the  present 
building  is,  however,  of  brick,  and  permanently 
fixed.     Sir  Astley  Cooper,  the  celebrated  surgeon. 


GREAT  METROPOLIS.  277 

lived  in  this  street,  opposite  George-street.  JSTo.  50 
was  formerly  tlie  establishment  of  Col  burn,  the  dis- 
tinguished j^ublisher ;  it  has  since  been  for  many- 
years  that  of  its  present  occupants,  Messrs.  Saun- 
ders and  Otley.  Colburn's  publishing  house  is  re- 
moved to  Great  Marlborough-street ;  Bentley's  is 
in  N^ew-Burlington-street.  In  George-street,  Hano- 
ver-square, lived  Lord  Chancellor  Cowper ;  Lady 
Mary  Wortley  Montague ;  Pennant,  the  historian 
of  London ;  and  Copley,  the  American  painter, 
and  father  of  Lord  Chancellor  Lyndhurst ;  and  on 
the  opposite  side  Prince  Talleyrand. 

St.  George's  Church,  Hanover-square,  has  been 
the  scene  of  most  of  the  distinguished  marriages  in 
high  life;  it  is  considered  the  most  fashionable 
church  in  London.  In  the  burial-ground  on  the 
road  to  Bayswater,  belonging  to  this  parish,  Lau- 
rence Sterne,  the  author  of  "  Tristram  Shandy"  and 
the  "Sentimental  Journey,"  is  buried.  Sterne 
died  in  Old  Bond-street.  At  No.  24  lived  Sir 
Thomas  Lawrence  ;  and  at  Ko.  141  New  Bond-street 
lived  Nelson.  At  Long's  Hotel  Lord  Byron  was 
accustomed  to  lodge  when  in  London.  Gibbon  re- 
sided in  Bond-street  when  he  composed  his  "  His- 
tory of  Kome,"  but  we  have  not  been  able  to  ascer- 
tain the  precise  house.  At  No.  11  in  Berkeley- 
square  died  Horace  Walpole. 
10- 


278  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

In  Brooke-street,  Grosvenor-square,  once  lived 
Handel — the  house  is  at  ISlo.  57,  on  the  south  of 
Bond-street.  Here  is  Mivart's  Hotel,  the  usual 
residence  of  foreign  potentates. 

In  Cavendish-square  lived  George  Romney, 
the  painter,  in  the  house  No.  32,  subsequently  oc- 
cupied by  Sir  Martin  Archer  Shee. 

Returning  to  Great  Portland-street,  Oxford- 
street,  we  pause  to  note  the  house  I^o.  40,  once 
occupied  by  the  author  of  "  Seward's  Anecdotes  ;" 
"No.  47,  where  Boswell  breathed  his  last ;  and  'No. 
91,  where  Yon  Weber,  the  composer  of  "  Der 
Freischutz,"  died.  This  house  was  also  the  resi- 
dence of  Sir  George  Smart. 

The  vast  area  extending  northward,  which  com- 
prises buildings  of  comparatively  recent  date,  we 
shall  pass  over.  The  Colosseum,  however,  with 
its  imposing  dome,  claims  a  short  passing  notice. 
It  was  built  originally  for  Horner's  grand  pano- 
ramic view  of  London,  taken  from  the  summit  of 
St.  Paul's — perhaps  one  of  the  most  gigantic 
works  of  art,  and  certainly  the  most  triumphant, 
ever  achieved.  It  occupies  no  less  than  forty-six 
thousand  square  feet  of  canvas.  This  great  picture 
presents  London  in  all  its  immensity  of  streets, 
lanes,  and  alleys ;  its  colossal  buildings,  monu- 
ments and  churches  ;  with  its  famous  river  mean- 


GKEAT   METKUPOLIS.  279 

dering  through  the  picture.  In  the  centre  of  the 
rotunda,  concealed  by  tasteful  draperies,  re- 
sembling a  tent,  is  the  Elizabethan  "ascending 
room,"  for  the  conveyance  of  visitors,  by  means 
of  machinery,  to  the  point  for  viewing  the  pano- 
ramic picture  of  London.  For  those  by  whom  it 
may  be  preferred  there  is  a  spiral  staircase  for  the 
same  purpose.  At  night  a  painting,  illuminated 
in  a  peculiar  manner,  and  with  astonishing  effect, 
is  exhibited  here.  This  is,  in  fact,  a  panoramic 
view  of  London  by  moonlight :  in  which  are 
beheld  the  flitting  of  the  clouds,  the  glittering 
of  the  stars,  with  other  atmospheric  changes — 
the  lighting  of  the  streets,  squares  and  bridges, 
&c.  The  effect  is  heightened  by  snatches  of 
street  music,  the  striking  and  chiming  of  church 
clocks,  and  other  sounds  of  night.  The  Coli- 
seum includes  other  buildings  devoted  to  conser- 
vatories, containing  exotics  from  all  parts  of  the 
world.  It  has  also  some  models  and  statuary;  a 
series  of  model  pictures  of  Swiss  cottages,  classic 
ruins,  &c.  &c. 

Before  referring  to  the  Regent's  Park,  we 
might  mention,  for  the  information  of  his  admirers, 
that  Charles  Dickens  has  long  occupied  the  house 
No.  1  Devonshire  Terrace. 


280 


mi<:mokii<:s  of  the 


CHAPTER     XII. 

The  Zoological  Gardens — Royal  Botanical  Gardens,  Regent's  Park — Madame 
Tussaud's  Exhibition — Gore  House — Kensington  Gardens  and  Palace — 
Holland  House— Chelsea  Hospital  and  Church— Battersea— Putney — 
Fulham,  and  its  Literary  Celebrities — Chiswick  House — Horticultural 
Gardens— Kew  Church— Sion  House— Isleworth  Church— Richmond 
Park  and  Church — Strawberry  Hill — Hampton  Court  Palace — Bushy 
Park— Eton  College — St.  George's  Chapel— Windsor  Castle— Conclusion. 


the  Zoological  Gardens, 
in  Eegent's  Park,  every 
visitor  to  the  Metropo- 
lis will  of  course  pay 
a  visit.  It  is  a  most 
amusing  and  delightful 
resort.  The  grounds  are 
laid  out  with  exquisite 
taste,  and  those  who 
have  any  fondness  for  natural  history  will  here 
find  a  world  of  attractive  interest.  The  collection 
of  animals,  birds,  and  reptiles,  is  numerous. 
Among  the  animals  are  the  Polar  bear,  the  rhino- 
ceros, the  giraffe,  and  the  elephant.  The  giraffes 
and  rattle-snakes  are  very  rare  and  fine,  but  the 
attractions  of  the  Gardens  for  the  last  year  and  a 
half  have  been   the  hippopotamus,  presented   by 


GREAT    METROPOLIS.  281 

the  Yiceroy  of  Egypt,  and  the  uran  utan  from 
Singapore.  The  collection  of  living  snakes  is  the 
largest  ever  formed  in  Europe.  The  recent  attrac- 
tion is  a  collection  of  stuffed  humming  birds,  the 
property  of  Mr.  Gould,  author  of  the  "  Birds  of 
Europe,"  "  Birds  of  Australia,"  &c. ;  allowed  by 
ornithologists  to  be  the  best  in  the  v^rorld.  It  con- 
sists of  about  two  thousand  specimens  of  three  hun- 
dred species,  arranged  in  upwards  of  forty  glass 
cases.  This  beautiful  establishment  cost  some- 
thing like  £200,000. 

The  Royal  Botanic  Gardens  are  situated  in  the 
Inner  Circle,  Regent's  Park,  and  abound  with  or- 
namental trees,  and  are  laid  out  with  great  taste. 

Madame  Tussaud's,  in  Baker-street,  Portman- 
square,  has  long  been  renowned  for  its  splendid 
collection  of  wax-work  figures.  It  is  distributed 
through  several  elegantly  decorated  apartments. 
The  Hall  of  Kings  is  especially  worthy  of  note ;  it 
contains  full-length  figures  of  Anne  Boleyn  and 
Catherine  Parr,  with  splendid  jewellery  and  cos- 
tumes. In  addition  to  the  Hall  of  Kings  are  two 
new  Kapoleon  Rooms,  containing  the  golden  shrine, 
the  camp-bed  on  which  JSTapoleon  died,  the  full- 
length  portrait  of  the  Emperor  by  Le  Fevre,  and 
that  of  the  Empress  Maria  Louisa  by  Baron  Ge- 
rard. 

■«..^. 


282  MEMORIES    OF   THE 

We  must  not  omit  to  mention  Gore  House  ;  and 
with  this  we  complete  our  tour  of  the  Capital. 
This  mansion,  which  was  formerly  occupied  by  the 
Countess  of  JBlessington,  and  which  witnessed  her 
splendid  literary  gatherings,  is  now  called  "  Soyer's 
Symposium."  This  superb  establishment  is  fitted 
up  in  magnificent  style,  and  is  adorned  with  foun- 
tains, statues,  and  grottos.  It  was  originated  for 
the  purpose  of  furnishing,  on  a  grand  scale,  a  suite 
of  cosmopolitan  dining-rooms,  where  visitors  to  the 
Crystal  Palace  from  all  quarters  of  the  globe  might 
severally  indulge  their  tastes. 

Although  we  have  thus  rapidly  passed  over  the 
area  of  the  City,  and  the  countless  stately  streets 
of  the  "  "West  End,"  we  are  yet  reluctant  to  con- 
clude our  journey,  since  the  margin  of  the  Thames 
in  this  vicinity,  garnished  with  pleasant  memories, 
presents  such  strong  attractions  to  tempt  us  onward. 
And  first  of  Kensington  Palace — within  its  walls 
expired  William  and  Mary,  Queen  Anne,  and 
George  II.  Here  resided  Queen  Caroline,  and  also 
the  late  Duke  of  Kent,  father  of  Queen  Yictoria. 

Her  present  Majesty  was  born  in  it,  (1819,)  and 
here  (183Y)  she  held  her  first  Council.  The  Duke 
of  Sussex,  son  of  George  III.,  lived,  died,  and 
had  his  fine  library  in  this  Palace.  The  Orangery, 
a  fine  detached  edifice,  was  built  by  Wren.     The 


GKEAT   METROPOLIS.     '  283 

royal  collection  of  pictures  (long  famous  in  cata- 
logues, and  still  known  as  the  Kensington  Collec- 
tion to  the  readers  of  Walpole.)  has,  for  the  most 
part,  been  removed  to  other  palaces. 

Kensington  House,  near  the  palace  gates,  has 
been  successively  occupied  by  Elphinstone,  the 
translator  of  Martial ;  and  Mrs.  Inchbald,  the  au- 
thor of  "  The  Simple  Story."  She  died  here,  and 
is  buried  in  the  adjoining  church  of  St.  Mary's. 
In  the  same  churchyard  are  monuments  to  the 
memory  of  James  Mill,  the  historian  ;  and  Jortin, 
the  author  of  "  The  Life  of  Erasmus." 

Sir  Isaac  Newton  died  in  Pitt's  Buildings, 
Kensington,  whither  he  had  gone  for  the  benefit  of 
his  health.  In  JSTo.  24  Lower  Phillimore  Place, 
near  the  second  milestone  from  Hyde  Park  Cor- 
ner, Wilkie  painted  his  "  Chelsea  Pensioners,"  his 
"  Reading  of  the  Will,"  his  "  Distraining  for  Pent," 
and  his  "  Blind  Man's  Buff."  His  last  residence 
was  in  Yicarage-place,  at  the  head  of  Church-lane  ; 
and  here  he  took  leave  of  his  friends  before  his 
visit  to  the  Holy  Land,  whence  he  never  returned. 

Kensington  Gardens  are  so  world  renowned  for 
their  broad  umbrageous  avenues,  serving  as  fas- 
hionable promenades,  that  it  is  scarcely  necessary 
to  name  them,  for  the  poets  have  celebrated  them 
in  song. 


284  MEMOKIES   OF   THE 

Holland  House,  an  ancient  and  noble  mansion, 
erected  in  the  reign  of  James  I.,  merits  a  passing 
notice.  , 

The  Koyal  Hospital  at  Chelsea  provides  an 
asjlmn  for  disabled  and  superannuated  soldiers 
This  spacious  building,  erected  by  Wren,  cost 
£150,000.  It  accommodates  between  five  and  six 
thousand  in  and  out  pensioners,  at  a  cost  of  about 
one  million  sterling. 

In  the  Chapel  are  preserved  the  eagles  of  jN'apo- 
leon,  captured  at  Barossa,  Talavera,  and  Waterloo. 
In  the  Dining  Hall  remain  the  fragments  of  the 
standards  won  at  Blenheim  from  Louis  XIY., 
besides  flags  of  all  nations  down  to  the  Chinese, 
with  the  Dragon  banners. 

In  Chelsea  resided  Lord  Shaftsbury,  author  of 
"  The  Characteristics ;"  Sir  Robert  Walpole  ;  Sir 
Richard  Steele  ;  Dr.  Mead  ;  Addison  ;  Locke  ;  Dr. 
Smollett;  and  Arbuthnot.  In  Beaufort  House, 
Chelsea,  at  the  north  end  of  Beaufort-row,  resided 
Sir  Thomas  More.  It  was  at  this  house  he  was 
visited  by  Erasmus. 

Chelsea  Church  is  worthy  of  a  visit,  on  account 
of  the  monument  of  Sir  Thomas  More,  with  an  in- 
scription from  his  own  pen.  There  is  also  the 
monument  of  Sir  Hans  Sloane.  Among  other 
eminent  persons  buried  at  Chelsea  w^ere  Shadwell, 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  285 

tlie  poet  laureate;  Cipriani,  the  painter;  Boyer, 
author  of  the  French  Dictionary ;  Woodfall,  the 
printer ;  and  Millar,  the  bookseller,  who  preceded 
Cadell  and  Co.  in  the  Strand. 

The  opposite  town  of  Battersea  is  memorable 
as  having  been  the  place  of  the  birth  and  death  of 
Bolingbroke.  The  monument  in  Battersea  Church 
erected  to  his  memory  is  the  work  of  Roubilliac. 

Putney  was  the  birth-place  of  Cromwell,  Earl 
of  Essex.  This  was  battle-ground  in  the  time  of 
the  Commonwealth.  Here  Cromwell  established 
his  head-quarters.  Gibbon,  the  historian,  was  born 
here;  and  at  the  Bowling-green  House,  on  the 
Heath,  Pitt  breathed  his  last,  on  the  23rd  Janu- 
ary, 1809.  Passing  the  pleasant  foot-paths  of  this 
sequestered  spot,  we  reach  Fulham.  Fulham 
Palace  is  adorned  with  portraits  of  Bishops  Laud, 
King,  Juxon,  Sheldon,  Compton,  Sherlock,  and 
Lowth.  At  Parson's  Green  lived  Pichardson, 
the  novelist ;  here  he  wrote  "  Clarissa  Harlowe," 
and  other  worlds.  Here  also  resided  Sir  Thomas 
Bodley,  founder  of  the  library  at  Oxford,  bear- 
ing his  name ;  and  also,  for  a  time,  the  great 
Lord  Bacon.  This  vicinitv  has  lonaj  been  the 
chosen  retreat  of  men  of  letters ;  here,  snugly  en- 
sconced, lived  the  admirable  humorist  Theodore 
Hook ;  and  in  earlier  times,  Tonson   and  Linton, 


286  MEMORIES    OF   THE 

the  publishers.  At  Hammersmith  Thomson  re- 
sided for  a  time;  and  here,  at  the  Dove  Coffee 
House,  he  composed  part  of  his  "  Seasons."  Near 
the  Suspension  Bridge,  a  little  above  Hammer- 
smith, is  Chiswick.  This  ground  is  memorable  as 
the  scene  of  an  action  between  Prince  Eupert  and 
the  Earl  of  Essex  ;  but  the  attractions  of  Chiswick 
are  the  superb  mansion  of  the  Duke  of  Devonshire, 
and  the  Gardens  of  the  Horticultural  Society.  At 
Chiswick  House,  the  great  statesmen  Fox  and  Can- 
ning breathed  their  last.  The  far-famed  grounds 
of  Chiswick  House,  as  well  as  the  palatial  edifice 
itself,  are  very  magnificent.  Both  are  richly  deco- 
rated with  gems,  of  art,  which  have  claimed  the  ad- 
miration of  the  connoisseur.  The  Horticultural 
Gardens  contain  thirty-four  acres,  and  are  laid  out 
in  the  most  imposing  style.  In  the  churchyard  is 
a  monument  to  the  great  painter  Hogarth.  The 
inscription  upon  the  tomb  is  from  the  pen  of 
Garrick : — 

"  Farewell,  great  painter  of  mankind, 
Who  reached  the  noblest  point  of  art ; 
Whose  pictured  morals  charm  the  mind; 
And  through  the  eye  correct  the  heart. 
If  genius  fire  thee,  reader,  stay ; 
If  nature  move  thee,  drop  a  tear ; 
If  neither  touch  thee,  turn  away, 
For  Hogarth's  honor'd  dust  lies  here  !'* 


GKEAT   METROPOLIS.  289 

Holland  House  possesses  a  choice  and  extensive 
library.  The  surrounding  park  includes  about 
three  hundred  acres,  of  which  sixty-three  are  laid 
out  as  pleasure-grounds.  Over  a  rural  seat  the  fol- 
lowing couplet  was  inscribed  by  the  late  Lord  Hol- 
land : — 

"Here  Rogers  sat;  and  here  forever  dwell 
With  me  those  '  Pleasures'  that  he  sang  so  well." 

Many  historical  incidents  are  connected  with 
Holland  House  during  the  reign  of  Charles  I.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  Addison  became  possessed 
of  Holland  House  by  marriage,  and  it  was  here  he 
wrote  and  died. 

Here  in  the  well  remembered  lines, — 

"  He  taught  us  how  to  live  ;  and,  oh  !  too  high 
A  price  for  knowledge,  taught  us  how  to  die ! " 

In  Kew  Churchyard  is  buried  Gainsborough, 
the  artist.  By  his  express  desire,  his  name  only 
was  cut  on  the  gravestone.  Shortly  before  Ee  ex- 
pired, he  exclaimed,  "  We  are  all  going  to  heaven, 
and  Yandyke  is  of  the  company."  At  Brentford 
Church,  Tooke,  author  of  the  "  Diversions  of  Pur- 
ley,"  officiated  for  a  time.  Sion  House,  one  of  the 
seats  of  the  Duke  of  x»[orthumberland,  presents  a 
noble  aspect  from  the  river.  It  is  richly  endowed 
with  a  library  and  antique  statues,  and  paintings 


290  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

by  Lely,  Yandyke,  and  others.  Sion  House  is  rife 
with  historic  associations,  and  is  of  remote  origin. 
Katherine  Howard  was  once  imprisoned  here,  and 
it  was  here,  also,  the  corpse  of  Henry  YIII.,  whose 
funeral  procession  is  said  to  have  exceeded  in  mag- 
nificence any  ever  seen  in  England  before  or  since, 
rested  a  night  on  its  way  to  Windsor.  It  was  then 
a  nunnery.  Isle  worth,  with  its  moss-grown  church 
tower,  is  also  an  attractive  object  from  the  Thames. 
Here  Lord  Baltimore,  the  original  grantee  of  Mary- 
land, resided.  Richmond,  on  the  Thames,  is  a 
classic  spot.  Henry  YII.  held  a  grand  tourna- 
ment at  his  manor  of  Richmond  in  1492,  and  here 
also  he  died  in  1509.  The  Emperor  Charles  Y.,  of 
Germany,  lodged  for  a  season  at  Richmond,  in  1523. 
Queen  Elizabeth  was  a  prisoner  at  Richmond  Pa- 
lace during  the  reign  of  her  sister  Mary,  and  after 
she  ascended  the  throne  it  became  her  favorite 
residence;  she  also  ended  her  days  here,  1603. 
Richmond  Church  contains  a  monument  to  Dr. 
Moore,  author  of  "  Zeluco  ;"  he  was  father  of  the 
brave  Sir  John  Moore  ;  here,  also,  is  the  tomb  of 
Thomson,  the  poet  of  the  "  Seasons."  The  beautiful 
lines  of  Collins  to  his  memory  will  occur  to  the 
reader : — 

"  In  yonder  grave  a  Druid  lies, 

Where  slowly  steals  the  winding  wave ; 


^CA   _^_'^v. 


GREAT   METKOPOLIS.  293 

The  year's  best  sweets  shall  duteous  rise 
To  deck  its  poet's  sylvan  grave." 

The  grave  of  Thomson  is  at  the  west  end  of  the 
north  aisle  of  the  church.  Collins  resided  at  Kich- 
mond,  and  composed  some  of  his  poems  there. 

The  beautiful  tablet  to  the  memory  of  Kean, 
the  great  tragedian,  is  near  that  of  Thomson. 

Richmond  Park  is  eight  miles  in  circumfe- 
rence, and  abounds  with  magnificent  trees.  All 
that  remains  of  the  old  Palace  of  Sheen  is  the 
west  side  of  the  green,  with  an  arched  gateway. 
Richmond  was  formerly  called  "  Sheen,"  a  Saxon 
word  for  resplendent,  and  well  it  deserves  the 
name,  for  the  view  from  Richmond  Hill  is  one 
of  surpassing  beauty.  Pope's  tomb  will,  of  course, 
be  sought  out  at  Twickenham  Church.  About 
a  mile  from  Twickenham  is  Strawberry  Hill,  the 
renowned  residence  of  Horace  Walpole.  This 
extraordinary  letter-writer  has  told  his  own  life 
story  so  minutely  that  we  need  not  rehearse  it 
here.  He  had  a  private  printing-press  of  his  own, 
the  literary  prints  of  which  are  still  cherished  with 
avidity  by  the  bibliomaniacs. 

Hampton  Court  Palace  abounds  with  interest- 
ing associations,  and  it  is  enriched  with  some  of 
the  costliest  works  of  art. 

In  that  magnificent  structure  are  the  Cartoons  of 


294  MEMORIES    OF   THE 

Raphael  and  the  beauties  of  Charles  II.'s  dissolute 
Court  The  palace  is  comparatively  a  modern 
work.  It  was  here  that  the  swelling  pride  of  the 
haughty  Wolsey  was  displayed.  In  the  most 
palmy  days  of  his  influence — before  the  passions 
of  his  master  had  developed  the  fierceness  of  his 
will,  and  the  growing  tyrant  "  was  young  and 
lusty,  disposed  all  to  mirth  and  pleasure,  and  to 
follow  his  desire  and  appetite  " — he  made  a  bar- 
gain with  the  Prior  of  St.  John  for  the  manor  of 
Hampton  Court.  This  was  in  the  year  1516.  The 
Lord  Archbishop  of  York  very  soon  changed  the 
character  of  the  place.  The  poor  manor-house 
was  swept  away  ;  the  rank  meadows  which  skirted 
the  Thames  were  transformed  into  curious  knotted 
gardens ;  a  great  palace  arose,  as  if  by  magic, 
at  the  bidding  of  the  profuse  and  tasteful  Cardi- 
nal ;  and  here,  within  two  years  of  his  purchase 
of  the  place,  did  he  surround  himself  with  the 
pomp  of  kings,  and  maintain  a  state  which  even 
the  most  absolute  king  had  rarely  practised. 

Hampton  Court  stands  on  the  north  bank  of 
the  Thames,  about  twelve  miles  from  London,  and 
is  less  imposing,  compared  with  some  of  the 
other  royal  abodes.  About  the  middle  of  the 
thirteenth  century,  the  manor  of  Hampton  was 
vested  in  the  Knights  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem ; 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  295 

and  in  the  early  part  of  the  reign  of  Henry  YIII., 
Cardinal  Wolsey  became  its  lessee. 

The  palace,  as  erected  by  Wolsey,  consisted 
of  five  courts,  of  which  only  two  now  remain, 
and  afford  an  interesting  specimen  of  the  ancient 
style  of  ecclesiastical  building.  The  third  was 
erected  by  William  III.,  and  constitutes  the  pre- 
sent state  apartments.  Passing  under  the  battle- 
mented  gateway,  with  turrets  on  each  side,  we 
enter  the  middle  court ;  on  the  right  we  have  the 
entire  length  of  Cardinal  Wolsey's  Hall,  and  on 
the  left  there  is  a  colonnade  of  the  Ionic  order,  de- 
signed by  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  which,  however, 
does  not  harmonise  with  the  ancient  buildings 
around.  The  third  court  is  a  quadrangle,  with  a 
fountain  in  the  centre,  and  consists  chiefly  of 
buildings  erected  by  Wren. 

On  entering  the  Grand  Chamber  the  attention 
is  at  once  arrested  by  the  various  devices  in  which 
muskets,  swords,  and  pistols,  sufiicient  for  the 
equipment  of  one  thousand  men,  are  disposed  on 
the  walls.  The  paintings  are  in  character  with 
the  rooms ;  they  consist  of  six  portraits  of  English 
admirals,  by  Kneller,  and  several  battle-pieces,  in 
some  of  which  great  vigor  is  displayed.  But  the 
most  conspicuous  is  one  of  gigantic  dimensions. 
Queen  Elizabeth's  porter,  who  is  said  to  have  been 
seven  feet  six  inches  high  ! 


296  MEMOBIES    OF   THE 

The  Queen's  Gallery,  eighty  feet  in  length, 
contains  an  extensive  collection  of  curious  portraits. 
The  Elizabethan  group,  representing  Her  Majesty 
at  different  periods  of  her  life,  first  engages  the 
attention.  It  consists  of  portraits  of  Elizabeth 
when  an  infant ;  at  twelve  years  of  age  ;  in  the 
meridian  of  life  ;  and  in  her  latter  days.  There  is 
also  a  full-length  of  the  Queen,  attired  in  a  fan- 
tastic Persian  dress,  and  represented  as  in  a  forest. 
This  room  contains  several  Scripture  pieces ;  but 
by  far  the  greater  number  of  the  collection  are 
portraits  of  eminent  persons.  Mary,  Queen  of 
Scots ;  Lord  Darnley ;  .James  the  First  and  Se- 
cond ;  Queen  Mary  ;  Anne,  of  Denmark ;  Francis 
I.,  of  France ;  Erasmus ;  and  the  "  admirable  Crich- 
ton,"  are  among  the  most  conspicuous.  Passing 
through  several  small  rooms  we  enter  the  Cartoon 
Gallery,  in  which  are  displayed  those  treasured 
triumphs  of  the  genius  of  Raffaelle,  the  "  prince  of 
painters."  The  drawings  were  originally  intended 
as  patterns  for  tapestry  to  decorate  the  walls  of  the 
Papal  chapel,  and  were  executed  by  order  of  Leo 
X.  During  the  production  of  the  tapestry  at  Arras, 
the  Cartoons  were  exposed  to  no  small  danger 
from  the  recklessness  of  the  artisans,  who  for  their 
own  convenience  cut  them  up  into  small  slips.  It 
is  somewhat  singular  that  they  remained  in  this 
state  for  an  entire    century,    although   the    tapes- 


GREAT  METROPOLIS.  297 

tries  which  were  woven  from  them  were  held  in 
high  admiration,  and  it  was  left  for  Kubens  to 
rescue  them  from  oblivion.  Having  directed  the 
attention  of  Charles  I.  to  their  ruinous  condition, 
his  Majesty  purchased  the  seven  now  in  Hampton 
Court,  intending  to  have  tapestries  woven  from 
them.  They  were,  however,  neglected  and  compa- 
ratively unknown,  until  William  HI.  directed  the 
slips  to  be  joined  together,  and  erected  the  present 
spacious  gallery  for  these  unequalled  works  of  art. 
They  consist  entirely  of  scenes  in  Scripture  history. 

Among  other  historical  events  connected  with 
this  edifice,  we  might  mention  the  following  : — ^Ed- 
ward YI.  was  born  here.  In  1543,  the  nuptial  cere- 
monies of  Henry  YHI.  and  his  last  wife.  Lady  Ca- 
therine Parr,  were  celebrated  at  this  Palace.  The 
Protector  Somerset,  Queen  Mary  and  Philip,  Queen 
Elizabeth,  James  I.,  Charles  I.,  Cromwell,  James 
n.,  William  and  Mary,  William  IH.,  and  George  H. 
and  his  Queen,  at  different  times  have  resided  at 
Hampton  Court. 

The  superb  arcades  and  gardens  of  Hampton 
Court  somewhat  resemble  those  of  St.  Cloud. 
Their  broad  avenues,  crystal  fountains,  rich  pai'- 
terres,  and  majestic  trees,  combine  together  with 
the  richest  effect.  We  have  not  yet  forgot  the 
luscious  grapes,  the  largest  in  Europe,  which  hang 
11 


2  OS  MEMOEIES   OF   TIIE 

ill  such  thick  clusters  from  the  celebrated  Ham- 
burgh vine,  and  which  are  reserved  for  the  delicate 
palate  of  royalty.  Garrick's  Yilla  stands  on  the 
margin  of  the  Thames,  in  close  proximity.  There 
are  other  spots  of  interest  worthy  of  enumeration, 
but  we  shall  simply  name  them; — Claremont, 
which  owed  its  origin  to  the  eccentric  Sir  John 
Yanbrugh;  Esher,  noted  for  its  Wolsey's  Tower; 
Walton,  a  spot  interesting  alike  to  the  antiquary  and 
the  lover  of  the  picturesque;  and  Chertsey,  the 
birth-place  of  Cowley,  the  poet.  Beautiful  also  is 
Bushy  Park,  with  its  magnificent  chesnut  avenue,  a 
mile  long,  one  of  the  noblest  sights  to  be  seen 
around  London. 

Of  the  numerous  objects  of  interest  with  which 
the  banks  of  the  Thames  are  so  thickly  studded, 
none  are  of  such  surpassing  grandeur  and  regal 
magnificence  as  Windsor  Castle,  with  its  adjacent 
chapel  of  St.  George,  and  Eton  College.  This 
massive  and  stately  pile  is  richly  stored  with 
poetic  associations,  and  venerable  for  its  antiquity, 
it  having  proudly  defied  the  rav^ages  of  Time  for 
some  eight  centuries.  Here  kings  were  born  ;  here 
they  kept  royal  state  amid  the  blaze  of  fashion  and 
luxurious  indulgence  ;  and  here,  in  the  adjoining 
mausoleum,  they  were  buried.  Here  deeds  of 
chivalry  and  high  renown,  that  shine  'on  us  from 


GEEAT   MfETKOPOLIS.  301 

ancient  days,  were  enacted  ;  and  it  ie  here  the  most 
exemplary  of  England's  monarchs  still  prefers  to 
hold  her  suburban  residence.  This  brave  old  for- 
tress, unlike  the  Tower  of  London,  with  its  dark 
records  of  crime,  is  rife  with  pleasant  memories. 
]N"ot  only  is  the  edifice  itself,  with  its  gigantic 
,  towers,  its  broad  bastions,  and  its  kingly  halls,  sa- 
cred with  incident  and  story,  but  Shakespeare  has 
also  rendered  classical  the  very  ground  on  which 
it  stands. 

Windsor  Forest,  with  its  magnificent  old  oaks, 
and  its  richly  variegated  scenery,  of  "  upland, 
lawn,  and  stream,"  has  afibrded  a  fruitful  theme  for 
the  pens  of  Gray  and  the  author  of  "  The  Seasons ;" 
and  Pope,  it  will  be  remembered,  has  felicitously 
pictured  forth  its  changeful  beauties.  As  far  back 
as  the  days  of  the  Saxons  we  have  records  of  a 
palatial  residence  at  Old  Windsor,  or  as  its  name 
then  was,  Windleshora^  so  called  from  the  wind- 
ings of  the  Thames  in  its  vicinity.  AYilliam  the 
I^orman  built  some  portions  of  the  Castle,  which, 
until  the  time  of  Richard  I.,  seems  ever  to  have 
been  the  peaceful  abode  of  royalty.  During  the 
civil  wars,  of  which  Windsor  was  a  principal  scene, 
the  Castle  became  the  most  important  military 
establishment  in  the  kingdom.  The  sanguinary 
struggles  connected  with   the   signing   of  Magna 


302  MEMORIES   OF   THE 

Charta  are  familiar  to  the  reader.  The  birth  of 
Edward  III.,  which  took  place  at  Windsor,  forms 
another  epoch  in  its  history — that  prince  having 
reconstructed  the  greater  part  of  the  castle,  and 
very  largely  extended  it.  William  of  Wykeham 
was  the  architect,  with  the  liberal  salary  of  a  shil- 
ling a  day.  It  is  said  he  had  six  hundred  work- 
men employed  on  the  building,  at  the  rate  of  one 
penny.  It  was  here  Kichard  II.  heard  the  appeal 
of  high  treason,  brought  by  the  Duke  of  Lancaster 
against  Mowbray,  Duke  of  l!Torfolk,  which  resulted 
in  the  former  becoming  Henry  TV.  It  was  here 
the  Earl  of  Surrey,  imprisoned  for  the  high  crime 
of  eating  flesh  in  Lent,  beguiled  his  solitude  with 
his  muse  ;  and  here  was  the  last  prison  of  that  un- 
fortunate monarch,  Charles  I.  In  Windsor  Castle 
also  resided  the  haughty  Elizabeth  ;  and  along  its 
terrace  might  have  been  seen,  in  the  days  of  the 
Commonwealth,  the  stern  figure  of  the  lion-hearted 
Cromwell.  It  was  the  residence  of  Henry  YIL, 
and  the  prison  of  James  I.  of  Scotland.  It  is  in- 
debted for  most  of  its  modern  splendor  to  the 
luxurious  taste  and  prodigal  expenditure  of  George 
lY.,  who  obtained  from  the  House  of  Commons 
the  sum  of  £300,000  for  the  purpose.  The  suites 
of  royal  apartments  at  present  in  use  by  the  Queen 
are  superb  in  the  extreme,  especially  the  state  draw- 


GREAT   METROPOLIS.  305 

ing  rooms,  in  whicli  are  nine  pictures  by  Zucca- 
relli ;  and  St.  George's  Hall— a  vast  apartment,  in 
which  the  state  banquets  are  given. 

The  long  walk,  extending  about  three  miles  in 
a  direct  line  to  the  Palace,  presents  the  finest  vista 
of  its  kind  in  the  world.  It  extends  from  the 
grand  entrance  of  the  Castle,  to  the  top  of  a  com- 
manding hill  in  the  Great  Park,  which  affords  a 
panoramic  view  of  enchanting  beauty,  including 
many  places  memorable  in  history.  On  the  right 
is  the  Thames,  seen  beyond  Charter  Island,  and 
the  plain  of  Runnymede,  where  the  Barons  extorted 
Magna  Charta,  whilst  in  the  hazy  distance  are  the 
rising  eminences  of  Harrow  and  Hampstead.  On 
the  summit  of  this  hill  stands  the  equestrian  statue 
of  George  III.  ISTear  the  avenue  called  Queen 
Elizabeth's  Walk,  tradition  still  points  out  a  wi- 
thered tree  as  the  identical  oak  of  "  Heme  the 
Hunter,"  who,  as  the  tale  goes, 

"  Sometimes  a  keeper  here  in  Windsor  Forest, 
Doth  all  the  winter  time,  at  still  midnight, 
Walk  round  the  oak,  with  great  ragged  horns." 

St.  George's  Chapel  presents  a  ])eautiful  speci- 
men of  Gothic  architecture  of  different  periods. 
The  interior  is  very  magnificent.  Its  groined  roof 
and  splendid  stained  glass  windows,  with  the  pen- 
dant banners  of  the  Knights  of  the  Garter,  combine 
11* 


306  MEMOlilES    OF   THE 

together  to  present  an  effect  of  marvellous  beauty. 
Beneath  the  chapel  is  the  burial-place  of  several 
monarchs — of  Edward  lY.,  Henry  YIII.,  Jane 
Seymour.,  Charles  I.,  the  Princess  Charlotte  of 
"Wales,  George  III.  and  his  Queen,  George  lY., 
William  lY.  and  his  Queen,  and  others. 

The  classic  groves  of  Eton  here  burst  upon  the 
view.  The  Royal  College  of  Eton  consists  of 
two  quadrangular  buildings  of  the  Tudor  style  of 
art.  It  was  founded  by  Henry  YI.  in  1440.  The 
Chapel  is  a  Gothic  structure,  somewhat  resembling 
that- of  King's  Cuilege,  Cambridge.  Its  Library  is 
one  of  the  best  and  most  extensive  in  England. 
Many  literary  celebrities  have  emanated  from  Eton 
College.  Slough,  about  a  mile  from  Eton,  was  the 
residence  of  Herschel,  the  astronomer  ;  and  in  addi- 
tion to  Yirginia  Water,  the  largest  artificial  lake  in 
the  United  Kingdom,  we  may  mention  Stoke  Pogis, 
the  classic  ground  of  the  poet  Gray. 

Here  we  reach  the  terminus  of  our  pleasant  per- 
ambulatory  tour,  and  conclude  our  colloquial  com- 
ments on  the  notabilia  of  London  and  its  suburbs, 
not,  however,  without  the  consciousness  that  these 
brief  notes  by  the  way  might  have  been  advan- 
tageously extended,  for  while  there  are  ponderous 
tomes  of  learned  lore  touching  the  subject,  which 
Yie  leave  to  the  patient  scrutiny  of  the  antiquary, 


GKEAT   METKOPOLIS.  307 

there  is  yet  much  of  eminent  interest  that  has  been 
garnered  by  more  modern  writers,  to  which  we 
have  scarcely  alluded.  Those  who  desire  fuller 
details,  therefore,  we  refer  to  the  admirable  volumes 
of  Cunningham,  Knight,  and  Mackay,  to  whose 
collections,  indeed,  we  have  been  indebted  in  no 
small  measure  for  whatever  of  interest  may  attach 
to  the  foregoing  chapters.  Here,  then,  we  bid  adieu 
to  the  noble  city — alike  fragrant  with  memories  of 
the  past,  and  affluent  in  all  that  constitutes  its 
present  greatness  and  splendor. 

"  August  and  glorious  City  !     T?iy  renown 
Fills  with  heroic  deeds  of  high  emprise 
The  lengthened  records  of  the  stream  of  Time. 
Great  Citadel  of  Power !     Thy  potent  sway 
Spreads  the  wide  world  ;  thy  wit  and  wealth, 
Vast,  opulent,  shed  their  refulgent  light 
O'er  all  the  earth ;  and  beautify  with  peace  ' 

And  gentle  charities  all  human  kind. 
No  more  may  war  disturb  thy  halcyon  reign, 
But  happy  homes  of  industry  repay 
Thy  well  requited  toils,  and  benisons 
From  Heaven  augment  thy  treasury  anew 
With  spoils  of  genius  to  enrich  mankind !  " 


APPENDIX 


On  arriving  at  the  British  Capital 
the  first  question  that  suggests  itself 
to  the  traveller  is  v/here  to  sleep  and 
to  dine.  To  meet  this  inquiry  the 
following  list  of  Hotels  is  subjoined. 
Those  vv'ho  wish  to  mingle  with  the 
wealthier  classes,  and  to  whom  ex- 
pense is  no  object,  will  find  the  beet 
accommodations  at  the  Clarendon,  in 
New  Bond-street ;  Mivarfs,  in  Brook- 
street  ;  and  Grillon's,  St.  George,  in 
Albemarle-street ;  Fenton's,  Chris- 
tie's, and  Ellis's,  in  St.  James's  street ; 
and  the  numerous  hotels  in  Jermyn- 
street ;  Long's  and  the  Blenheim,  in 
Bond-street  ;  the  Burlington  and 
Queen's,  in  Cork-street,  may  safely 
be  recommended  as  good  Family  Ho- 
tels. Here  the  first  company  always 
resort,  and  the  terms  are  accordingly 
high.  The  Gloucester  and  Hatchett's, 
in  Piccadilly,  and  Limmer's,  in  Con- 
duit-street, are  the  resort  chiefly  of 
sporting  gentlemen.  The  less  ex- 
pensive hotels  we  may  mention  as 
central  houses,  Richardson's,  the  Ta- 
vistock, the  New  and  Old  Hummums, 
Bedford,  and  Piazza,  in  Covent  Gar- 
den. Those  who  wish  to  be  midway 
between  the  City  and  the  West  End 
would  do  well  to  put  up  at  the  Union, 
in  Cockspur-street,  or  Morley's,  at 
Charing  Cross.  The  London  Tavern, 
Bishopsgate-street,  and  the  Albion 
Tavern,  in  Aldersgate-street,  both 
very  famous  for  large  public  or  jjri- 
vate  dinners.  The  Bridge  House 
Hotel,  London  Bridge ;  Gerard's  Hall 
Inn,  Bread-street  ;  the  Bull  and 
Mouth,  and  the  Castle  and  Falcon, 
St.  Martin-le-Grand,  may  be  recom- 
mended ;  besides  which,  in  St.  Paul's 
Churchyard  and  its  district,  are  many 
good  and  respectable  hotels. 

There  iire  a  profusion  of  dining- 
rooms  or  chop-houses— numbering 
about  six  hundred,  and  nearly  one 
thousand  coffee-houses,  in  the  various 


sections  of  the  City,  besides  numerous 
divans  and  reading-rooms.  Private 
boarding-houses  are  also  easily  to  be 
found  in  the  central  and  western 
parts  of  London,  at  prices  ranging 
from  one  to  four  or  five  guineas  a 
week,  and  some  at  half  a  guinea  for  a 
single  person. 

Many  of  the  dining-houses  of  the 
City  are  famous  for  some  particular 
dish :  thus,  the  Ship  and  Turtle,  in 
Leadenhall-street,  for  its  turtle  ; 
"Joe's,"  in  Finch-lane,  Cornhill,  for 
steaks,  served  on  metal  plates  ;  the 
"  Cock,"  the  "  Rainbow,"  "  Dick's," 
and  "  Dr.  Johnson's  Tavern,"  Fleet- 
street,  for  steaks,  and  chops,  and 
"  snipe  kidneys,"  etc. 

"  The  stranger  who  wishes  to  see 
City  feasting  in  all  its  glory,  "  says 
Cunningham,  "should  procure  an  in- 
vitation to  one  of  the  banquets  of 
some  of  the  City  Companies  in  their 
own  halls.  The  Goldsmiths'  dinners, 
given  in  their  magnificent  hall,  behind 
the  General  Post  Office,  exhibit  a 
grand  display  of  gold  plate.  Some 
of  the  Companies,  again,  the  Fish- 
mongers, Merchant  Tailors,  &c.,  are 
famous  for  their  cookery,  and.  the 
antique  character  of  their  bills  of  fare 
— still  maintaining  the  baron  of  beef, 
the  boar's  head,  the  swan,  the  crane, 
the  ruft"  and  many  other  delicacies  of 
the  days  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  After 
these  dinners  '  the  loving  cup '  goes 
round.  In  the  Carpenters'  Company, 
the  new  masters  and  wardens  are 
crowned  with  silver  caps  at  their 
feast;  at  the  Clothworkers,  a  grand 
procession  enters  after  dinner.  Simi- 
lar customs  prevail  at  other  of  the 
great  Companies' banquets,  and  all  the 
dinners  are  first-rate." 

The  Dock  Tavein,  at  Blackwall,  is 
where  the  celebrated  white-bait  din- 
ners are  given  ;  there  are  others  also 
at  Greenwich,  where  epicures  in  this 


310 


APPENDIX. 


famous  dish  assemble  to  regale  their 
palate. 

The  principal  theatres  and  places 
of  amusement  are  as  follows  : — 

The  Italian  Opera,  Haymarket — 
the  largest  with  one  exception,  we 
believe,  in  the  world  ;  Covent  Garden 
Theatre,  now  devoted  to  the  Italian 
Opera  ;  Drury-lane  Theatre,  (English 
Opera)  ;  the  Haymarket  Theatre, 
(British  Drama,  vaudeville,  &c.) ;  the 
Lyceum,  or  English  Opera,  in  the 
Strand,  near  the  Adelphi ;  the  Prin- 
cess's, Oxford-stieet  ;  St.  James's 
Theatre,  (French  Plays) ;  the  Adel- 
phi, near  Southampton-street,  Strand, 
(Melo-drama  and  Farce) ;  Sadler's 
Wells,  Islington  ;  Astley's  Amphi- 
theatre, (Horsemanship,  &c.);  the 
Diorama,  Regent's  Park ;  the  C!yclo- 
rama,  Albany-street,  Regent's  Park  ; 
the  Colosseum,  Regent's  Park  ;  the 
Oriental  Diorama,  King-street,  St. 
James's ;  the  Egyptian  Hall,  Picca- 
dilly ;  Gallery  of  Illustration,  Regent- 
street,  (the  Overland  Route  to  India) ; 
the  Lin  wood  Gallery,  Leicester- 
square  ;  Wyld's  Great  Globe,  Leices- 
ter-square ;  Burford's  Panorama,  in 
the  same  place  ;  the  Panorama,  Re- 
gent-street, (moving  pictures  of  Con- 
stantinople) ;  the  Polytechnic  Insti- 
tution, Regent-street,  (curious  ma- 
chinery) ;  the  Polyorama,  adjoining ; 
the  Chinese  collection,  Albert  Gate, 
Hyde  Park ;  Catlin's  Indian  Gal- 
lery, Waterloo  Place  ;  Madame  Tus- 
saud's  Waxworks,  Baker-street,  Port- 
man-square  ;  Cremorne  Gardens, 
Chelsea  ;  Vauxhall  Gardens,  near 
Vauxhall-bridge  ;  Surrey  Zoological 
Gaf^ens ;  and  the  Zoological  Gar- 
dens, Regent's  Park. 

The  Bazaars  are  as  annexed: — 

Burlington  Arcade  and  Bazaar,  Pic- 
cadilly, adjoining  Burlington  House  ; 
Lowther  Arcade,  extending  from 
West  Strand  to  St.  Martin's  Church  ; 
Soho  Bazaar,  Soho-square,  in  the 
north-west  comer ;  Exeter  Change 
Arcade,  Brydges-street,  Strand ;  Royal 
Bazaar,  New  Oxford-street ;  Pantech- 
nicon, Belgrave-square ;  Pantheon  Ba- 
zaar, Oxford-street,  once  the  largest 
of  the  London  theatres.  In  addition 
to  the  foregoing  there  are  the  several 
Picture  Galleries  ;  the  National  Gal- 
lery, Trafalgar-square  ;  Vernon  Gal- 
lery, Marlborough  House;  Society  of 
British  Artists,  Suffolk-street,  Charing 


Cross.  The  two  societies  of  Painters 
in  Water  Colors,  Pall  Mall-east ;  the 
National  Institution  of  the  Fine  Arts, 
Regent-street,  opposite  the  Polytech- 
nic ;  the  Exhibition  of  the  Pictures  of 
all  the  schools  of  Europe,  Lichfield 
House,  St.  James's-squaie  ;  Paintings 
at  the  Royal  Academy  ;  besides  the 
private  collections  of  the  Queen  and 
many  of  the  nobility,  which  may  be 
viewed  on  application.  The  famous 
collection  of  pictures  by  che  old  mas- 
ters, in  Dulwich  Gallery  ;  Raphael's 
Cartoons,  at  Hampton  Court;  and  the 
Vandyck  Pictures,  at  Windsor,  as 
well  as  the  splendid  galleries  of  the 
Dukes  of  Devonshire,  Sutherland, 
and  Northumberland,  and  Earls  Gros- 
venor  and  Spencer,  which  should  not 
be  overlooked. 

The  lover  of  art,  also,  will  not  fail 
to  inspect  the  various  statues  and 
monuments  that  grace  the  numerous 
squares  of  the  City  ;  or  the  lover  of 
literature  and  science  neglect  to  pay 
a  visit  to  the  London  University,  in 
Gower-street,  Westminster  School, 
Draw's  Yard,  Westminster,  or  the 
various  learned  societies  —  a  hst  of 
which  we  annex  : — 

The  Royal  Institution  of  Great  Bri- 
tain, Albemarle-street ;  the  Society  of 
Antiquaries,  Somerset  House ;  the 
Royal  Society  of  Literature,  St.  Mar- 
tin's Place  ;  the  Museum  of  Practical 
Geology,  Jermyn-street ;  the  Entomo- 
logical Museum,  Old  Bond-street ;  the 
Geographical  Society,  Waverly  Place; 
the  United  Service  Institution,  Scot- 
land Yard  ;  the  Society  of  Arts,  Adel- 
phi ;  the  Soane  Museum,  Lincoln's 
Inn  Fields  ;  Museum  of  the  Asiatic 
Society,  New  Burlington-street ;  the 
Zoological  Museum,  Hanover-square  ; 
the  Architectural  Exhibition,  Pall 
Mall ;  the  Institute  of  British  Archi- 
tects, Lower  Grosvenor-street ;  Insti- 
tute of  Civil  Engineers,  Great  George- 
street,  Westminster ;  the  British  Ar- 
chaeological Association,  Sackville- 
street;  the  Archasological  Institute, 
Haymarket ;  Linnaean  Society,  Soho- 
square  ;  the  Microscopical  Society, 
Regent's  Park ;  the  British  Museum, 
Great  Russell-street. 

The  principal  Medical  establish- 
ments consist  of  the  following  : — 

The  Royal  College  of  Surgeons, 
in  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields,  (containing 
Hunter's    Museum) ;    Royal  Medico- 


APPENDIX. 


311 


Chirurdcal  Society ;  the  Medical  So- 
ciety ot  London  ;  the  Middlesex  Hos- 
pital, Charles-street,  Oxford-street ; 
Charing  Cross  Hospital,  West  Strand ; 
London  Hospital,  Whitechapel-road  ; 
University  College  Hospital,  Gower- 
street ;  that  attached  to  King's  Col- 
lege, Portugal-street,  Lincohi's  Inn 
Fields;  Westminster  Hospital,  Broad- 
way ;  St.  George's  Hospital,  Hyde 
Park  Corner;  St.  Mary's  Hospital, 
Paddington  ;  London  Fever  Hospital, 
Liverpool-road,  Islington  ;  St.  Luke's 
Hospital,  Old-street,  City-road;  Con- 
sumption Hospital,  Brompton  ;  the 
Foundling  Hospital,  Guildford-street, 
Brunswick-square  ;  the  Free  Hospital, 
Gray's  Inn-road ;  Caledonia  Asylum, 
Copenhagen  Fields ;  the  Jews'  Hos- 
pital, Mile-end ;  and  French  Protes- 
tant Hospital,  Old-street.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  the  charitable  institutions 
and  hospitals  of  London  extend  to  just 
five  hundred,  and  that  their  annual 
disbursements  amount  to  i£l,764,733 
sterling  per  annum. 

Of  these  institutions  five  are  Royal 
Hospitals.  One  for  the  education  of 
youth  (Christ's  Hosjjital),  three  for 
the  cure  of  disease  (St  Bartholo- 
mew's, St.  Thomas's,  and  Bethle- 
hem) ;  and  one,  Bridewell,  for  the 
punishment  of  the  idle  and  the  dis- 
solute. Bedlam  and  Bridewell  are 
under  the  same  direction. 

The  Churches  and  Chapels  of  the 
British  Metropolis  exceed  five  hun- 
dred in  number. 

With  the  following  list  of  the  seve- 
ral Railroad  Stations  we  conclude  our 
details  : 

Brighton,  Dover,  Croydon,  Green- 
wich, and  North  Kent  Railway,  from 
London-bridge  (Southwark  side),  or 
Newcross  Stations  —  for  Croydon, 
Tunbridge,  Maidstone,  Folkestone, 
Dover,  Brighton,  Shoreham,  Wool- 
wich, Gravesend,  and  Rochester; 
and  the  Steamers  to  Havre,  etc. 


London  and  South  Western  Rail- 
way, from  Waterloo  Bridge-road — 
for  Surrey,  Sussex,  Hampton  Court, 
Winchester,  Southampton,  Dorches- 
ter, Gosport,  Portsmouth ;  and  Steam- 
ers to  Isle  of  Wight,  Jersey,  Guernsey, 
and  Havre,  St.  Malo,  Granville,  Ex- 
mouth,  Plymouth,  Falmouth,  Water- 
ford,  Cork,  Dublin,  Spain,  Portugal, 
Mediterranean,  East  Indies,  West  In- 
dies, and  Mexico. 

Great  Western  Railway  from  Pad- 
dington —  for  Berks,  Oxfordshire, 
Wilts,  Somerset,  Devon,  and  Glouces- 
tershire, Windsor,  Reading,  Oxford, 
Cheltenham,  Gloucester,  Bath,  Bristol, 
Bridgewater,  Taunton,  Exeter,  and 
Plymouth  ;  and  the  Steamers  to 
Swansea,  and  South  Wales,  Cork, 
Waterford,  Dublin,  and  New-York. 

London  and  North  Western  Rail- 
way, from  Euston-square — for  Ayles- 
bury, Dunstable,  Bedford,  Northamp- 
ton, Peterborough,  Stamford,  Rugby, 
Coventry,  Leamington,  Birmingham, 
Wolverhampton,  Lichfield,  Stafibrd, 
Crewe,  Chester,  Birkenhead,  Con- 
way, Bangor,  Holyhead,  and  Dublin  ; 
also  to  Warrington,  Liverpool,  Man- 
chester, Preston,  Lancaster,  Kendal, 
Carhsle,  Edinburgh,  Glasgow,  Stir- 
ling, Perth,  Dundee,  and  Montrose; 
likewise  to  Leicester,  Nottingham, 
Lincoln,  Derby,  Sheffield,  Leeds, 
York,  Hull,  Darlington,  Newcastle, 
Berwick,  Edinburgh,  and  Glasgow. 

Eastern  Counties  Railway,  from 
Shoreditch  —  for  Chelmsford,  Col- 
chester, Ipswich,  and  Buiy  St.  Ed- 
munds ;  also  for  Ware,  Hertford,  Bi- 
.shop-Stortford,  Newmarket,  Cam- 
bridge, St.  Ives,  Huntingdon,  Ely, 
Norwich,  Yarmouth,  Lowestoft,  Dere- 
ham, Lynn  ;  also  to  Peterborough 
and  Stamford. 

Blackwall  Railway,  from  Fen- 
church-street  and  Minories  —  for 
Blackwall,  Gravesend,  Margate,  and 
the  Scotch  and  French  Steamers. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or  , 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 

Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 

LIBRARY  USE 

. 

JUN9    1959 

1 

JUM&     ^ 

!»                              i 

V. 

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^Af^tfoT^lii^                               Uoiv^^|£&n<a 

